"Iron Man" -- Robert Downey, Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow

The thing I heard about this before seeing it that I remember most is that Iron Man is "two hours of gadget porn." That's pretty accurate, and your inner eight-year-old will be positively horny the entire time. There's a long stretch of the film where there's little or no plot, but I really didn't care, because I was so wrapped up in the technology.

The best thing about it was if you have the money, pretty much everything depicted in this movie is probably possible and in use somewhere right now, and the things that aren't, probably will be within five years. Only two things stuck out to me as impossible, improbable, or impractical, and most things, such as Tony's terminally clumsy all-purpose robot (we see it with a claw to pick things up, holding a magnifying glass for Tony, and with a fire extinguisher in the testing of the suit), have the sense of reality to them like this really is happening somewhere, and if you only had enough money, you could have all these toys too.

I heard much debate and despair that Robert "Coke-boy" Downey, Jr. wouldn't be able to pull off the intense genius, but fans of the comic book will actually wish he would have gone more over the top on the playboy side of the character. He does, however, avoid the trap of the character that drinks heavily with no consequences or changes to his behavior, and as a movie character Downey's Stark works well (not to mention being quite fit and looking smoking hot in a sweaty wifebeater). Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane was an astute cast, as Bridges manages to be lovable and benevolent through the first half, then make us hate him when we need to. Gwyneth Paltrow is great as Pepper Potts, Tony's long-suffering and bitingly witty personal assistant. Terrence Howard, however, rises above as "Roadie," inhabiting the character completely. The character's thoughts and feelings are palpable without ever being overdone, and a scene comes to mind where you can see him physically shaking with relief, a great turn for any actor. The rest of the smaller roles range from great to adequate to, in a few cases, bad stereotype, but the larger actors make up for it.

Some of the movie is improbable or stupid, but these parts are easily forgivable because the rest of the movie is so awesome. A triumph for Marvel's first movie, and I expect it to keep grossing at a good clip until it leaves theaters. Definitely see it in the theater for the full effect, maybe even twice, then buy it on DVD when it comes out.

Best line: "If you douse me again when I'm not on fire, I will donate you to the city college."
Best performance: Terrence Howard
Best moment: Pepper walks in on Tony trying to get out of the suit. There's a moment of silence and he says "okay, let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."