I was thrilled to see him cast as Tony Stark. It's great to see great actors (Christian Bale as Batman is another) get these roles so these movies are more than SFx.

I've always loved Marvel Comics. It's great that the movie industry is taking them seriously.

My little brother used to collect Iron Man comics when we were kids back in the 70's, he'll be thrilled about this movie and I'm gonna go see it too.

I've ever wanted to go see one of these (sorry, but "dumbass" is the adjective I normally use here) superhero films. Downey has always been a marvelous actor, and his face now carries the imprint of years of suffering. I want to see more of him.

Robert Downey Jr. plays his roles in the same ironic way over and over again. I sincerely hope that he shines in a new way in this one.

"How long does it take a writer to come up with, and type, that kind of line -- a few minutes, maybe?"

Actually, to be fair, it can take weeks to come up with a line like that. Screenwriting is about distilling a lot into a little, and still leaving something for the actor to add. Not easy to do, and that line sounds about perfect (I haven't seen the movie yet, so I'm talking blind).

Good on Downey, good on Favs, and good on the writers -- all four of them. (See? Multiple writers isn't ALWAYS bad. Just usually. Especially if we're talking about a Flintstones movie.)

I've been a fan for ages, and it warms the cockles of my heart to see him getting the accolades he deserves. His performances in Chaplin, Two Girls and a Guy, The Singing Detective, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Zodiac stand out as among the best I've seen on screen. His non-conformist nature shines through his eyes, helping him to trancend even the odd bits of dreck. He is talented, beautiful-looking, and, hopefully, around for years to come. The fact that he has wrestled with and conquered heroin addiction just makes me admire him more.

I'll be checking this out (with my Aunt who is also a fan) on the weekend. Can't wait.

See? Multiple writers isn't ALWAYS bad. Just usually.

Yes, but in this case, it is two sets of writing partners as opposed to four separate writers, so I'm not sure it counts.

I am happy to see this film getting such good reviews (I about fell out of my chair when I read Variety's) As soon as I heard Downey Jr. had been cast as Stark I got excited thinking this could be one of those superhero films that really gets it right.

One of the benefits of working at a movie theater, I just saw the new Ironman movie.

Awesome. Really great. Robert Downey Jr has come back from the abyss to become a truly remarkable leading man, made all the more so by his own character flaws, which he imbues into his role to create such wonderful depth and feeling.

Two points to add though:

1- Be sure to stay through the credits to see the added seen at the very very end. It includes a special guest who is not in the actual movie, and it sets up the sequel(s).

2- The one minor complaint I have is this: The song 'Ironman' by Ozzy/Sabbath isn't heard until the credits at the end, and even then it's just the music, no vocals. C'mon! C'mmonnnn! That's just not fair. I mean, the song played so prominently in the trailer, as you'd kinda figure, you know, with a movie called Ironman about a character called Ironman, maybe when the character appears we could be treated to a song called, oh I dunno, maybe... Ironman!?!!?!

But no. Sure the music in the movie is good, but I wanted to hear Ozzy/Sabbath blasting Ironman, but no such luck. Oh well.

Anyone who is a fan of Stan Lee, or Robert Downey Jr., or just good ol' action movies is absolutely going to LOVE the new Ironman movie.

I like John Favreau, so I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn't put the song in the trailer and hid it at the end of the movie because he knows what it's about.

Commercializing a song that protests against the shitty treatment of the veterans of an unpopular war under our current circumstances would require someone to be an enormous asshole.

Finally, Downey finds a vehicle to restore his career in a stellar fashion. Looking forward to seeing it...sounds like a perfect fit for him.

Thanks for the review. More and more it is sounding like a must see. Are you from my home town, Boston? Maybe Billrickah or Mehfuh?

... they're creating a whole universe of movies, which is why Marvel their films are doing so much better than DC's.

Marvel has done a very good job of leveraging their properties into recent films (Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, X-Men, Blade, Fantastic Four). And while not all of them have been good (hello, Daredevil!), Marvel is setting up a shared universe that will allow a lot of crossover potential in the future. (Downey is slated for a cameo in the new Incredible Hulk movie, and there's lots of talk about a possible Avengers flick bringing together characters from Marvel's various movie projects.)

Contrast this with DC, whose movies haven't been managed as well. The fact that Brandon Routh and Christian Bale aren't slated to play Superman and Batman in the upcoming Justice League movie speaks volumes about the differences between Marvel and DC when it comes to their films.

... and clearly perfectly cast as a man who's turned his life around and renounced his selfish ways. BUT (semi-serious question here) is he believable as a successful and creative businessman?

Oddly, whenever my friends talk of this film the interest is not the effects or the character -it's what they've seen of Downey, most noteably the scene in the trailer where Pepper catches him putting on his armor and he says something to the effect of "Let's be honest, this isn't the worst thing you've caught me doing."

It sounds like they made a good call, and I myself confess that it's what I've seen of his work that makes me want to see the film.