Director Jon Favreau has made the first true Marvel-backed film adaptation of its beloved comic franchise soar above the rest thanks to the martini-dry wit and ingenuity of star Robert Downey Jr. in IRON MAN. As the selfish, cynical captain of lethal industry, Tony Stark, Downey is a steel tempered shark in business and a predatory seducer of beautiful women who find his cool charm irresistible.  That is, with the lone and crucial exception of his confidante aide Pepper Potts, in the guise of charming if underutilized Gwyneth Paltrow, who has wisely preserved her armor of platonic professionalism whenever she's caught in Tony's sights. Stark is a second generation American entrepreneur in all the best and worst sense embodied in that brash and ballsy persona.  He and partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) manufacture the deadliest and coolest weapons ever fired by and upon mankind — only once, as Stark proudly boasts.  So efficient and profitable are Stark Industries' products that its owner spins to his military buyers and the ravenous press that SI only manufactures peacekeepers, not death-bringers.  Alas, the bitter global realities of political convenience at the expense of peace offer Stark a painful wakeup call to his own mortality and the terrible toll which his products exact in the wrong hands. Favreau and Downey have partnered to create a plausible, petulant hero for today's world, happily devoid of arachnid angst and psychological shadows which allow IRON MAN to rise above expectations.  Tenuously grounded in reality without being mired in it, offering many laughs without being its own punchline, IRON MAN starts this summer off with a sonic boom of high-flying superhero action.

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At the heart of IRON MAN's success is the clever and controlled nuclear powerhouse of Robert Downey Jr.'s performance as Stark.  Favreau and his screenwriters (Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum & Matt Holloway) cook up one of the most enjoyable character introductions in recent cinema. As Stark travels in a military caravan through the Afghanistan desert, he wins over his disciplined guards and the audience in just a few lines of dialogue backed by brazen attitude.  Stark's military liason Jim Rhoades (the affable Terrence Howard) gathers the field commanders for an explosive sales pitch for the latest in push-button destruction and military contracts for this terrible toy are rung up with glee.

Stark is a power broker living at the top of the world, willing to pick up the most extravagant tabs but rarely acknowledging the price of his irresponsiblity.  This American prince of audacious ingenuity is ripe for a fall, and tumble he does as his "Funvee" parade is obliterated by renegage soldiers in the mountains.  Stark is taken captive after one of his own missiles nearly kills him, and the battle for Tony Stark's soul begins.

The armor-clad action that ensues delivers plenty of superhero thrills enlivened by fairly solid character work by Bridges, Paltrow and Howard backed by serviceable supporting actors Shaun Toub as Stark's partner in captivity, and their terrorist taskmaster Taran Fahir.

An apparently endless stockpile of roguish wit and motivational clashing impel the story forward at all times, only straying off target slightly in the climactic end battle between Iron Man prototypes which has been played out all too often in the comic-bred genre.

Yet throughout this rocketing, rollicking film, Favreau — an infamous devotee of Marvel heroes — goes full throttle in Iron Man's exploits without ever letting his own fanboy nature over-geek the end result.  The visual effects, especially those helping create the Iron Man costume, work flawlessly to the film's benefit, suspending disbelief in their intricacy thanks to Stark's genius without ever letting the CG-tail wag the dog.

The light but filling diet of reality and fantasy keep the script buoyant and uplifting, and the plentiful humor spanning IRON MAN's 126 minutes make this latest superhero venture an engaging treat.  Downey can't very well steal his own show, but his troubled and tenacious Stark continually reinforce that a very human being resides underneath that gleaming red and gold armor.  His unconventional casting in the part displays as much genius as Stark does devising his Iron Man mechanics, and Downey proves the wisdom of his selection in every frame. Bridges provides plenty of gruff gravitas as Stane, though one hopes Paltrow will have a bit more to do in the inevitable sequel.

If the viewers seated around me is any yardstick by which to judge, Jon Favreau and Marvel have won an early victory in the summer 2008 battle for the box office and ticket sales should soar as high as the film's rocket man himself.  IRON MAN fires on all cylinders and scores a direct hit on audiences' appetite for action, laughs and thrills, setting the bar high this May and beyond.

Oh yes, and stay through the final credits... the fun isn't over yet!

FOR MORE IRON MAN INSIGHTS, READ OUR FILM EDGE GUEST REVIEW OF THE FILM HERE