I. Am. Iron Man

Don't panic. This is not an Iron Man spoiler.

Among my group of friends it is no argument that I am the biggest Iron Man fan. I just saw the film. I loved it.

It brought up some interesting questions in my head, and please forgive me because I'm departing from the game stuff for a moment and just examining some superhero movies.

We have Batman Begins, Superman Returns, 3 X-men, 3 Spiderman and now Iron Man. Oh and Daredevil...but...the less we talk about that, the better.

Did I like Iron Man better than all of those films? It's a very hard question for me. I don't think I'll be able to resolve it.

Batman Begins was an instant love. It was a great film. Superman Returns...I didn't like it in the theatre much but I began to love it after I thought about it more. I liked all three of the X-men films, or should I say the Wolverine films guest staring the X-men. They fucked up Rogue big time but there is no turning back. Spiderman films were fine. Good in fact, but I hate Toby and felt he gave a pretty boring, wooden performance.

So...Iron Man. I love him. I love the suit and the tragic history of Tony Stark (alcoholic, playboy, hero). But...would other people like him? I liked Tony Stark for reasons which will become obvious quickly. He was a very, very smart man (like my dad), he was a bit older than your Peter Parker/Captain America type (like my dad), he was an recovering alcoholic (like my dad). Notice a theme here? When I was young I very much associated Tony Stark and my dad. So I had an instant connection with Tony. And I loved the idea that a person, a man, could build a suit of armour that could make him a global hero. (One of the Avengers, doncha know).

After seeing it, I think, hands down, Iron Man is THE most entertaining superhero film. I will not say that best superhero film...people will make their own judgment on that. But it is the most entertaining. There were almost zero scenes where your mind wanders off and you wonder where this scene is going and could that actor overact just a little more...

Iron Man is entertaining due in no small part to Downey Jr.'s excellent performance. In the comics: I cared about Tony Stark but...I realize that I didn't really like him. I liked his story but he wasn't all that...I dunno...interesting? It's hard to write a character and make him compelling. Tony had his dark side. He struggled with a lot of personal demons. Tony was alright....but I really just read the comics to watch Iron Man kick ass. He was always more interesting, as with many superheros, with the mask on.

However, Robert Downey Jr. performance as Tony was excellent. Because Robert has what Mr. Stark is missing. Charisma. Downey Jr. has a ton of Charisma. You quickly grow to like and care about Tony Stark because of the charisma the actor portrays. And suddenly, Iron Man becomes a lot more likable as well.

Christian Bale did a fine job as Batman and an okay job as Bruce Wayne. But nobody cares about Bruce Wayne. You're just waiting for him to grab some two bit criminal and yell out: "I'm Batman!" That's the interesting parts of the movie.

I loved the actor who played Superman...does anybody know his name. Clark Kent was cute and funny, but Superman doesn't wear a mask. He's always Superman. The actor did a fine job.

But Tony Stark was awesome in this film. And as such, Iron Man, the hero, became a more interesting character to watch. And thus Iron Man the film becomes the most entertaining superhero flick around.

I'm very glad. Cuz they owed me for Daredevil...