Cerebral Itch Movie Review: Iron Man

Summer is here and that usually means vapid movie fare on the likes of Prom Night or some half-assed comedy for tweens. Well, if Iron Man is any indication of what we can expect this summer, seeing stuff go boom just got a hell of a lot smarter, classier and fun.

Not to bore you with the details, Iron Man is yet another Marvel comic book adaptation. And that is the only connection it shares with it's brethren in the form of crap like the Fantastic Four and two out of the three Spiderman movies; this film ladies and gentlemen, does not suck - not even close.

Robert Downey Jr. plays the protagonist Tony Stark with great relish and gravity as every fanboy who ever read Iron Man wished him to be played. In the pantheon of skilled actors giving a fantasy role every ounce of their talent, Downey's Tony Stark is this year's Jack Sparrow. Jeff Bridges plays antagonist Obadiah Stane, a villain that Dick Cheney would have a man-crush on. Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow also do some fine work all under the direction of Jon Favreau (Swingers, Elf). This is a movie with four actors who, at one time or another, have been recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences with either a nomination or Oscar; It shows.

Look, this movie is about a genius arms merchant/jackass playboy who has an epiphany at the hands of Afghani bastards and realizes he's part of the problem, leading him to manufacture an armed-to-the-teeth hi-tech exoskeleton that does things you only wish you could do stuck in rush hour. Cutting to the chase (as this movie does quite well), Iron Man is a wonderfully far-fetched, splendidly executed blast of a movie. It's worth your gas money, and that my friends is saying something these days.