Iron Man, he’s a B level comic book super-hero.  He’s best known for being one of the founding Avengers, being rich beyond most people’s dreams, and for a groundbreaking storyline where he battled alchoholism.

John Favreau has never done an action movie before.  He’s the guy who brought us Swingers (which he wrote, but didn’t direct), Made, Elf, and Zarutha.

However, the cast was A level all the way.  Robert Downey Jr. seems made to play a guy who is battling demons even while he’s having the time of his life.  Gwenyth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrance Howard were brilliant choices.

The trailers showed that Favreau “got it”, and that the entire cast was spot on perfect, and the music.  Good grief, how could you do a movie trailer for Iron Man where you didn’t use Black Sabbath’s tune?

I went into the theatre with high hopes, and I’m glad to say that I left pretty happy.

The movie was witty without being too clever, and it never dragged.  It’s an origin story, so there was the possibility of it meandering, but it didn’t, everything was crucial even stuff that at the time I thought was kind of throwaway ended up getting picked up on later (and I gotta say it took me two entire sayings of a certain ridonkulously long acronym to get what they were talking about).

Downey Jr. is so brilliant though that it’s almost unbelievable.  A weaker actor would have made a mockery out of the role, I shudder to think what would have happened five years ago if Ben Affleck had been handed this role, but Downey Jr. gets the joke without making it obvious.

There were plenty of easter eggs too.  Jarvis the butler is a computer now, but it’s still awesome.  Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan are both in it.  Stan Lee gets dolled up like Hugh Hefner.  Rhodes makes a little War Machine reference.  Best of all, there’s a little sequence after all of the credits with a certain eye-patched bad-ass that’s pretty awesome too (ALL of the credits, even the copyright stuff, patience really is a virtue).

Iron Man was great. Easily in the top 5 best comic book movies of all time, and right now maybe #2 on my list.

Our showing was in DLP, and let me just say, why more theatres aren’t DLP I just don’t understand.

DLP for those who don’t know, is Digital Light Processing. That means that we were watching a digitally projected version of the movie. A pristine print. I always forget how great the technology is until you watch a movie in it.

My top 10 Comic Book Movie list as of May 4th 2008 is (and subject to change shortly);

1. Batman Begins
2. Iron Man
3. Spider-Man 2
4. 300
5. The Crow
6. Spider-Man
7. Unbreakable
8. Hellboy
9. Superman II
10. Batman

If the trailers out there are any indication, The Dark Knight, Wanted, and Hellboy II will probably be bumping some of those movies off the list.