Iron Man

So the wasteland that is the summer blockbuster season is now officially under way. The good news is that the first entry is great fun. It benefits immensely from the presence of Robert Downey Jr in the title role (and who would have thought he'd end up in a film like this?) His sarcastic, unruly, and sexy presence makes Tony Stark the sort of person you should hate but can't help but adore. He has some cracking one-liners and the interplay with his robotic "assistants" is hilarious, especially the very helpful one doubling as a fire extinguisher. The dark scenes and the light ones complement each otherrather than jarring. And even for a non-comic book nerd like me the Mk. 2 suit was incredible, and there's a nice touch with Stark seemingly managing to destroy each version he creates (this is not a man you would want trust with your most loved possessions). OK, so Terrence Howard doesn't really have much to do apart from playing exasperated and you can spot the bad guy a mile off, but considering the horrors that usually unfold between May and September, Iron Man gets a big round of applause.