Iron Man is shiny, polished and moves at supersonic speeds, despite its heavy metal mentality…

The May Day Bank Holiday always brings with it the first of the summer’s blockbusters. Iron Man is not only first off the starting blocks, but also happens to be the first in 2008′s onslaught of superhero movies, and notably, the first to be financed and produced by Marvel themselves. With one of their big name, heavyweight characters and a budget rumoured to be around $150m the comic house have a lot riding on the success of Iron Man.

It is clear that they are aiming to establish a new franchise with this film, and with their forthcoming Incredible Hulk, there is plenty of potential for the kind of crossovers and exploration of the ‘Marvel universe’ that has so far been confined to comics format, presumably due to cost implications and licensing restrictions. At least fans of the source material know that their hero is in safe hands – nobody is likely to treat Iron Man more faithfully than Marvel themselves.

This new development has produced other benefits too; rather than cast the latest big name celebrity to gain exposure and column inches, Marvel have opted for actors that are renowned for their distinctive and award winning performances. Perhaps the most controversial casting so far has been Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark, Billionaire Genius Weapons Developer and the titular man of Iron. Stark is cocky, arrogant and every bit the swaggering billionaire playboy, but Downey Jr brings an enigmatic natural charisma that make him an absolute joy to behold. Downey Jr. is joined by 4 times Oscar nominee Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane, (a politically astute director of Stark Industries and an old family friend who clearly has his own agenda) and Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark’s personal assistant and potential love interest; the unfortunately named Pepper Potts.

The film kicks off with Stark being attacked and captured during a weapons demo in Afghanistan. Confined to a cave, his Taliban-esquire captors force him to go to work on building an advanced missile launching system, but, being a bit handy, he proceeds to go one better than the A-team and construct an armoured suit complete with all manner of makeshift weaponry in order to make his escape. This contraption forms the prototype for the legendary Iron Man suit, paving the way for some superb action sequences, with plenty to keep adrenaline junkies palpitating. The visual effects are never anything less than superb, as bright and stylised as the comics yet seamlessly convincing.

Like the best examples of the superhero sub-genre; Batman Begins, the X-men and Spiderman franchises, the film is littered with in-jokes and references to keep the fan-boys happy, yet the movie remains accessible to all. There’s plenty of humour, with a few truly laugh-out-loud moments that are most likely the hallmark of the director, Jon Favreau. He’s better known for his comedy acting in episodes of Family Guy, My Name is Earl, and movies the Break-up (2006), and Open Season (2006) than his directorial efforts, but even when he’s behind the camera his comedy talents tend to take precedent; most notably in the Will Ferrell break-out vehicle, Elf (2003). Iron Man earns Favreau serious kudos. Let’s hope that he keeps a hold of the reigns for any sequels, as he strikes a perfect balance between tongue in cheek humour and being serious enough to add weight whilst avoiding the camp trappings Joel Schumacher’s hammy Batman films.

Whilst Stark’s arsenal is undoubtedly impressive, it’s difficult to shake the impression that Iron Man’s not yet firing on all cylinders. This is most likely due to it being a tale of origins, building foundations and setting the scene for the films to follow, much like the first X-Men movie. The film has a very familiar story arc, a predictable, even clichéd structure, but it’s executed with such flare that you can forgive it its comic conventions. It’s rather apt that, like Stark’s Alter ego, Iron Man is shiny, polished and moves at supersonic speeds, despite its heavy metal mentality. If this is a sign of the quality we can expect from the superhero films of 2008, then it’s going to be one hell of a summer…

Verdict: ****

-This Review featured on BBC Radio Sheffield Leeds and York and was published by South Yorkshire Newspapers.  View the page in PDF format here.