Iron Man

The thing that I like about this movie is the same thing that I hate about Hitler: everything. So I bow before director Jon Favreau, who has now aced the superhero genre. Iron Man outdoes almost all other attempts in that it’s witty, smart and well-paced. Plus, it never tries to be deep. Sure, Tony Stark, owner of a megalithic weapons manufacturing company, learns that guns can kill and decides to put an end to violence by punching people, but it all fits into the nicely written tale. Most impressive is the way the various elements of the story all connect, from the origin to weapons-dealing to secret double-crosses—everything is tied together in a manner that involves no intelligence-insulting coincidences. In fact, everything ultimately makes sense, so you can save the belief-suspension for the super-cool suit of armor that makes Robert Downey Jr. into a high-tech hero. Also: Stay past the end of the credits for the secret final scene that … well, I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say there might be some avenging to be done.