I never thought of Robert Downey, Jr., as a potential superhero (and you won't, either, when you see him building his Iron Man prototype suit, a sort of medieval crusader outfit, in an Afghani cave). But surprises spring eternal, and the movie turns out to be exciting, fun, and visually cool, as well as funny, touching, and occasionally scary. Lots of good side characters and awesome performances by Gywneth as "Pepper Potts," the loyal assistant, and Jeff Bridges as a bald, evil maniac. Also, I think maybe one of the winners of the movie is that Downey manages to bring his real-life reputation for decadence and dissolution to the character of Tony Stark, sex-and-booze-crazed billionaire weapons designer (who is of course reformed once he must wear a glowing phone dial in his chest to keep his heart pumping). Also, he's buff beyond belief in this role; and Jon Favreau ("Elf") makes a surprising debut as an action director. Well worth the eight bucks. A+.
