Cinema - Iron Man (12A)

2:26pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

MARVEL has released its latest superhero flick and luckily for cinema-goers everywhere, it's more of a Spiderman than a Daredevil.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist who is captured in Afghanistan and ordered to build a missile for them.

Stark, being the clever kind of guy that he is, uses his knowledge to build a metal suit that allows him to escape.

Returning to the United States, he works on his armour and becomes the high-flying superhero, Iron Man.

Downey Jr is great as the cocky, yet likeable, Stark and there is great chemistry between him and his colleague Obadiah Stane, played well by Jeff Bridges.

Gwyneth Paltrow is a bit part player really but the special effects have nothing bit part' about them.

Watching Iron Man fly around the city and catch cars made me want to build a metal suit of my own, though I eventually accepted tin foil would not be a viable alternative.

The process in which Stark becomes his powerful alter-ego is also done very well, with the laughs coming from an unlikely fire extinguisher source.

The plot is pretty predictable but who cares, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

DS

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