Marvel - lous

Dunh dunh dunhdunhdunh nuhnuhnuhnuhnuhnuhnuh dunh nuh nuh (<--- hum along here to Randy Rhoads' famous guitar riff). Luckily director Jon Favreau saved the "theme song" until the end credits, just another of the small touches that contributed to the superb quality of the superhero saga Iron Man. Learning that Jon Favreau was the director of this film was sort of a head-scratcher for me. He is a terrific actor in some great smallish films (Rudy, Swingers [which he wrote], Very Bad Things, Made) as well as on TV (Friends, Dinner for Five); but I suppose lots of kids born in the 1960's and '70's foster dreams of hanging with superheroes. Of course, for me, Robert Downey, Jr. is the gold star in this thrill ride. His aptitude for quick dialogue continues to leave me breathless, as does his ability to move his face like a (handsome) slab of putty. The guy can go from full grin to insipid in an eyeblink. I count myself among the multitudes who are thankful he's still alive and kicking (ass!) after his personal difficulties.
In a nutshell: this telling of the Iron Man story begins in a contemporary fashion, in Afghanistan with Downey Jr's character, Tony Stark, personally delivering some new weapons to the American troops. He is the second generation, and boy genius, of family owned weapons manufacturer, Stark Industries. Upon ultimately escaping from Afghani captors after being injured, he spends some time judging the usefulness of his profession and the benefits that it offers the modern world. When he decides that he would prefer to use his power for good, his deceased father's second in command (love the Jeff Bridges!) must act to cover up the evil-doings he's been party to over the years.
The only weak link in this modern story of heroism is Gwyneth Paltrow's portrayal of Pepper Pots. She's close, but.....just not close enough. Too wooden, not quite sexy enough. I hope Mr. Favreau makes a little cast change before Iron Man II arrives - and believe me, it WILL.