• Movie Preview •

Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub and Gwyneth Paltrow. Written by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway. Directed by Jon Favreau.

ILM SYNOPSIS: Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment's big screen adaptation of Marvel's legendary Super Hero Iron Man will launch into theaters on May 2, 2008. Oscar(R) nominee Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the story of a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man.

PREVIEW REVIEW: Smart and witty writing (considering the genre), involving direction, perhaps the best special effects I’ve seen, and actors doing what good actors do best, make this one of the best of the Marvel comics screen adaptations. True, the last third becomes top heavy with the standard combativeness we’ve already seen with the Fantastic foursome, the mutating Transformers and the go-go Power Rangers, but by then Mr. Downey and his supporting players have cast their spell, drawing us into a mesmerizing action adventure that’s also a morality tale.

I do have a concern. While it has a comic book feel, the amount of visceral violence gained the film a PG-13 rating. Because of the amount of violent imagery already aimed at kids by the world’s entertainment community, I question this film’s suitability for younger moviegoers. Indeed, when our protagonist found himself in a bad way, a traumatized child (way too young for such a movie) started screaming.

I was also disappointed, but not surprised, by the inclusion of several obscenities and even a couple of profane uses of God’s name. Is that language now appearing in the action comic books?

Distributor: Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment