You know you're going to get a different kind of superhero when you cast Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role. And Iron Man is different, in welcome ways. Cleverly updated from Marvel Comics' longstanding series, Iron Man puts billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (that's Downey) in the path of some Middle Eastern terrorists; in a brilliantly paced section, Stark invents an indestructible suit that allows him to escape. If the rest of the movie never quite hits that precise rhythm again, it nevertheless offers plenty of pleasure, as the renewed Stark swears off his past as a weapons manufacturer, develops his new Iron Man suit, and puzzles both his business partner (Jeff Bridges in great form) and executive assistant (Gwyneth Paltrow). Director Jon Favreau geeks out in fun ways with the hardware, but never lets it overpower the movie, and there's always a goofy one-liner or a slapstick pratfall around to break the tension. As for Downey, he doesn't get to jitterbug around too much in his improv way, but he brings enough of his unpredictable personality to keep the thing fresh. And listen up, hardcore Marvel mavens: even if you know the Stan Lee cameo is coming, you won't be able to guess it until it's on the screen. It all builds to a splendid final scene, with a concluding line delivery by Downey that just feels absolutely right. --Robert Horton
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Robert Downey Jr. | Tony Stark |
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Terrence Howard | Rhodey |
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Jeff Bridges | Obadiah Stane |
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Gwyneth Paltrow | Pepper Potts |
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Leslie Bibb | Christine Everhart |
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Shaun Toub | Yinsen |
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Faran Tahir | Raza |
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Clark Gregg | Agent Coulson |
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Bill Smitrovich | General Gabriel |
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Sayed Badreya | Abu Bakaar |
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Paul Bettany | Jarvis |
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Jon Favreau | Hogan |
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Peter Billingsley | William Ginter Riva |
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Tim Guinee | Major Allen |
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Will Lyman | Award Ceremony Narrator |
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Tom Morello | Guard |
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Marco Khan | Guard |
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Daston Kalili | Guard |
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Ido Mor | Guard |
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Kevin Foster | Jimmy |
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Garret Noel | Pratt |
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Eileen Weisinger | Ramirez |
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Ahmed Ahmed | Ahmed |
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Fahim Fazli | Omar |
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Gerard Sanders | Howard Stark |
| Director | Jon Favreau |
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| Writer | Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby | |
| Producer | Victoria Alonso, Ari Arad, Avi Arad, Peter Billingsley, Louis D'Esposito, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Eric Heffron, Jeremy Latcham, Stan Lee, David Maisel | |
| Musician | Ramin Djawadi | |
| Photography | Matthew Libatique | |
| Edition | 2-Disc Ultimate Edition |
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| Nr Discs | 2 |
| Subtitles | English | French | Spanish |
| Distributor | Paramount Home Entertainment |
| Edition Release Date | Oct 27, 2008 |
| Regions | Region 2 |