While in captivity, industralist Tony Stark (Downey) creates a high-tech suit of armor which he first uses to fight his way to freedom, and then to prevent a dark-minded scientific genius from carrying out his nefarious plot against humankind.

I went to see Iron Man with low expectations despite great reviews all over. I didn’t much ever care for Downey Jr., but have to say now that he is quite a comic and sincere actor. His portrayal as a playboy industrialist turned superhero is convincing and engaging. The writing for Iron Man is especially remarkable, smart and witty. Not since the first X-Men have I been so fully satisfied with a comic adaptation of a live action film.

Since X-Men in fact, I have paid very close attention to the details of such comic adaptations. Not the true-to-comic details, but rather those things in a comic adaptation that could easily make it hard to suspend disbelief like costume, special effects, plot and character development.

I do love really cool, kick-arse looking costumes in superhero films especially when the costumes translate well from comic book to film such was the case in Transformers and such is the case in Iron Man. The fight sequence between Iron Man and Iron Monger was wholly engaging and believable because, first, Iron Man Tony Stark is an engineer and second, because Iron Man’s costume was partly destroyed in his battle against Iron Monger in such a way that you don’t forget the superhero (and the villain) is a man.

The special effects were effective in Iron Man because for the most part, compared to other action and comic adaptation films, they weren’t excessive and always relevant. The action sequences were too. When Stark’s first Iron Man armor is completely destroyed when he’s thrown across the desert and even when he’s fighting army jets, it all remains believable.

The plot and the character development are especially important to me when I go see a superhero film because the idea of superheroes already beg suspension of disbelief that there is only so much more I am willing to pretend to believe in order to enjoy and connect with the the story and the main characters. X-Men accomplished this task in its focus on technological details, science and human psychology. Iron Man did the same and just as effectively.

Nonetheless, Iron Man is just a really fun movie. Really fun and fully realized. I look forward to the sequel!

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