Iron Man

I went and saw Iron Man yesterday afternoon and, let me tell you, it was excellent! There were a few rather minor things that pulled me out of the movie for a brief second here and there, but overall the movie was very enjoyable. If you've been wondering if it's worth the price of admission, IMO it is. Very much so. I got my money's worth, no question.

Now, on to what I did and didn't like about the movie.

MINOR SPOILER ALERT



Things that pulled me out of the movie: Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) running in 4" heels, for one thing (I dare any man to try to run in heels without at the very least twisting an ankle. Or two.). Then the government agents let her go into the bad guy's "lair" with them, wearing those same 4" heels, and they wander off looking for the bad guy, leaving Pepper alone... Of course, I could just be jealous of her ability to walk in 4" heels, which I haven't been able to do since I was in my early 20s. Bad ankles and all that. With those things aside, though, I thought Gwyneth pulled off Pepper's personality very well.

Robert Downey, Jr. did a terrific job as Tony Stark--just the right amount of smartass mixed with vulnerability, especially after his "imprisonment". Jeff Bridges was delightful as Obadiah, Stark's second-in-command and ultimately the villain. It took me several minutes to realize who was playing Obadiah--Jeff's wearing a beard and his head is shaved--it made his face look really long.

The special effects, courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic, were fantastic.

All in all, there were very few times when I thought "Man, this would *never* make it past my critique group" (unlike when I went to see the last Die Hard movie...) So, if you're looking for a couple of hours' worth of entertainment, Iron Man's your movie.

Oh, and make sure you stay until the house lights are brought back up. There's more movie once all the credits have rolled.