I am Iron Man review!

No spoilers here!

People sometimes ask me of my fascination with comic books and superheroes. I believe that today's superheroes are modern day mythology, and they are as compelling as those that came before them. We all know the stories of Hercules or Odysseus because they struggled against great odds to triumph at the end. Comic books provide stories based on those established themes, complete with compelling characters and fantastic art. Or you could be immature and say I like seeing men in tights.

Ever since I was a little kid, I was enamored with superheroes. Introduced through classic cartoons such as Captain Planet, Spider-Man, X-Men, and the greatest of all: Batman: The Animated Series, they provided worlds where anyone could have fantastic abilities and good always triumphed over evil.

A few years later, the Marvel Action Hour debuted featuring half hour episodes of the Fantastic Four and Iron Man back to back. Iron Man soon became my favorite hero. I eventually found my way into the comic books behind these cartoons, and have not looked back. Despite the myriad of characters and stories available, Iron Man still remained my favorite. Back then, it was because he had a bad ass suit of armor. Today, it's because he is the most interesting character of them all.

Never an A-list character like Spider-Man or the Hulk, Iron Man is different than the other heroes in that he wasn't given his power -- he forged it. Tony Stark is Iron Man because he wants to be, not because he has to be. He's the one comic character where his civilian identity is more important than his alter ego -- the Iron Man armor is just a tool for Stark to make the world a better place. This drive to improve the world makes for good story telling, because he always doesn't make the right choices to get there. He's a fundamentally flawed character; an alcoholic, womanizing, former weapons designer who has a lot of blood on his hands, but he works hard to not let all that be his legacy.

Enough of me! To say that I've been anticipating this movie being made is a severe understatement. Since this movie was officially announced a few years ago, what turned from slight doubt has turned into extremely high expectations with every new interview, image, and trailer. So now that it's out and I've seen it, what do I think? Just about cinematic perfection. This movie has action, stunning visuals, humor, and a well crafted story documenting the change from a worry free weapons designer to a conflicted avenger.

Robert Downey Jr. is the movie. I can't imagine anyone else playing the title role, and all you need is the first ten minutes to see why. He's surrounded by a strong supporting cast of Gweneth Paltrow, Terrance Howard, and Jeff Bridges, but make no mistake -- this is Downey's movie. To top it off, Industrial Light & Magic did most of the special effects (in my opinion, you could see where the Orphanage, the other 3D animation house, did theirs (read: slightly lesser quality)) and the fact that often you can't tell between CG and practical elements just go to show why they are the best.

My only con of the movie is that I felt the end fight scene wasn't as big or epic as it could have been. To me the cave escape (and the parts leading up to this) were the strongest of the whole thing, and that happened in the beginning -- the payoff at the end just didn't compare.

There are a few nods to elements of Iron Man comics and stuff strewn in for future Iron Man movies, as well as future Marvel movies if you look closely enough (note: stay for the credits). Box office predictions have Iron Man making $104 million domestically in the first weekend, good for tenth best at the box office all time. At 94% (currently) on RottenTomatoes.com, Iron Man is the best reviewed movie of the year thus far, and tops all superhero movies. Sequels sound like a safe bet, and here's me once again eagerly waiting.

Am I biased? Probably. However, everyone I went with and others I've talked to have only positive things to say, which makes me comfortable in awarding:

My Score: 9.5/10, Must Watch, and Buy!
I gotta give a chance for the sequel to get a perfect 10, right?

As of this writing,
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (Spider-Man 2: 93%; Batman Begins: 84%)
MetaCritic: 78 (Spider-Man 2: 80; Batman Begins: 70)