Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau did an excellent job here, keeping the pace perfect and the action exciting. Supporting players are serviceable with roles that are thankless. But Downey really barrels through this like a runaway truck and has a great time doing it. Also, though it’s a super-hero movie, you can’t help thinking about the larger context. There’s no caped supervillains. No Lex Luthor. Iron Man heads to Afghanistan, and kicks some terrorist ass, evoking cheers from the opening-night crowd. But a millionaire genius arms dealer who protects the world from Afghanis? The concept seems a little nostalgic in today’s “preemptive strike”, “shock and awe” climate.