Hey folks, Harry here... AICN's Annette Kellerman is not a comic book savant, however - she will own your ass when it comes to gore & nudity in film, the New Kids On The Block trivia and she will drink Tony Stark under the table. But even though she didn't know much of anything about Tony Stark... and IRON MAN - she came and had her mind blown. Before we get to her review - let's take a look at the video of our very own Jet Pack Man dressed in the most awesomely funky IRON MAN costume in the history of mankind... and let's see him FLY!!!

Near perfection. Those were the words on my lips as the credits for IRON MAN began to roll. This film is exactly how the summer movie season should be kicked off. With a thoughtful, kickass bang.

Aside from hanging out with a group of comic book geeks and hearing all their various rants and raves throughout the production of the film, I really came into this screening not knowing much of the storied Tony Stark and his alter ego. I had high expectations following the onslaught of amazing trailers- which sometimes makes me nervous about being let down by the final product. Alas, IRON MAN not only met those high expectations, it totally exceeded them in many ways.

I'm a total sucker for a good hero movie, but sometimes storyline is sacrificed for action and explosions. To cultivate a great hero character, serious back story is a must. Director John Favreau does a great job quickly establishing our lead as a genius, dapper, lothario and then just as quickly smashes that persona into bits as Stark is forced to question the most fundamental blocks on which his life and success were built. As many of you probably already know, war torn Afghanistan substitutes for Vietnam as the backdrop for Stark's personal epiphanies while forcing the audience to face the hard questions of war as well. I love when a shoot 'em up requires brain power in addition to a good appreciation for special effects. And speaking of effects, there were many times throughout this film that I had to remind myself that what I was seeing wasn't real. I'm not a fan of big, over-hyped action sequences where the lead actor suddenly looks like he or she stepped into a playstation game. What I do love is a good mix of CGI and practical effects. Though there were a few inescapable moments of total CGI-ness in a few spots, Favreau's effects team made me believe that there was a iron clad man wreaking havoc on baddies. Shit looked great.

Robert Downey Jr. may just be my new favorite superhero. I've been so pleased with the recent trend in action filmmaking that pairs talented, seasoned actors with roles that could be misconstrued as fluff. To me it has breathed new life into a genre that might otherwise be getting tired. Instead, however, I am delighted to behold a new crop of superhero films with the caliber of talent to match the over the top summertime theatrics. Downey now tops this list. He so perfectly captures the brazen yet conflicted Stark character with such gusto, you just can't help but love him. Oh yeah, ladies, he's really nice to look at too. For the fellas' fodder, Gwyneth Paltrow simply glows as Stark's longtime loyal assistant Pepper. Once again, it is so refreshing to see an academy award winning actress take on the role of sidekick and totally imbue the character with a charisma that would've been completely lost on the starlet du jour. Hefty supporting performances by Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard pushed the mega talent meter even higher. In an attempt at not giving anything away, I'll just say that it was extremely fun seeing Bridges take on his role full throttle, and despite my previous IRON MAN ignorance, Howard's turn as Rhodes has me practically begging to see War Machine in action.

Hats off to John Favreau for kicking off my summer with near perfection. IRON MAN has set the bar so high, I'm actually now a bit nervous about what the rest of the season holds!

Until then,
Annette Kellerman