Of all the mega-budget superhero movies that Hollywood has produced, Iron-Man  although being slick and fun humored, can not compare to franchises such as superman, batman or spiderman.  Although entertaining enough, and definitely having the hype of the later, Iron man as a character even with it’s metal suit, falls short.

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, is a billionaire arms entrepreneur, Tony Stark, who becomes a computer generated superhero, falls short of the true nature of a superhero.  Marred by his own self-destructive nature as a playboy and a self-entitled narcissists, his character seems to be anything but tragic or heroic.  Add to that the fact that this failing superhero seems to be dying from the very thing, the suit, which makes him powerful, leads to a distracting and haphazard plot.

Along comes the half witted, Mickey Rourke, as a lugubriously-accented Russian villain called Whiplash, who one can not really figure out why he became at odds with Iron Man to begin with besides being Russian.  Sam Rockwell, Downey’s best friend than haphazardly enters the scene, and becomes a side kick.  With his introduction on the scene the already too conflicted plot, becomes even more confusing.  At times it appears that there are a myriad of plots all going on simultaneously, none being all that engaging or clear

Downey’s character seems to be trying to battle three sequels at once making it hard to distinguish what plot to follow.  There is no dominant threat or story line.  The addition of Scarlet Johansson, although fun to look at, only serves to confuse the plot further.  Dressed in skin tight goodness, she becomes some sort of black widow secret agent, all to create sexual tension between Gwenth Paltrow and Downey, although her role in the movie altogether is never quite clear, a little gratuitous eye candy.

On the upside, this movie is full of good banter and being far less politically charged than the original, allows it to be salvageable for entertainment purposes.  Although it will not be hailed as the greatest film of all time, it is somewhat entertaining and has enough good humor and visual stimulation to be worth seeing.  The effects of the movie alone are enough to grab your attention and if not in need of deep philosophical plotting, or any plot at all, your expectations will be met.

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