With a lesser known comic book hero to work with, director Jon Favreau wisely treats the Iron Man character with care. The film version of this Marvel story is crafted with dramatic interests, the proper dose of well-timed comedy, and an underlying message to lift Iron Man above his many comic counterparts who have turned to film. This is the best adaptation since Batman Begins.

No one could have been cast as well as Robert Downey Jr. to play Tony Stark, the wealthy, weapons-dealing billionaire. His transformation from arrogant and somewhat naïve CEO to Iron Man is slowly developed. It’s nearly 50 minutes into the film before the audience is even given a glimpse, in prototype form, of the comic book icon.

The script, along with Farvreau’s direction, make this introductory period feel like 10 minutes. The clever, interesting, and all-around entertaining scripting is engaging from the opening credits. No frames of film are wasted, and the important exposition builds a plausible scenario that helps viewers at least partially believe the events to follow. It’s easy to believe in Stark’s sudden character shift with the help of his fellow captive played by Shaun Toub.

Iron Man’s origin story requires multiple leaps of faith on the part of the audience. How his captors fail to fully realize he’s not building what they requested, fail to shoot the wide open eye holes in the prototype suit, and then the miraculous rescue after being captive for three months in the middle of nowhere strain even superhero logic. The film quickly dispatches with its lesser parts, drawing the crowd into a morality tale about weapons production and the after-effects of such dealing. Stark has purpose, and it’s more than just mindlessly wandering from place to place to dispatch various evil doers.

Action is sparse, yet none of it is wasted. Scenes of Stark taking to the skies to save a small village have character-building implications (in addition to being enormously entertaining). The final battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger (played with a devilish side by Jeff Bridges) is eerily similar to Transformers, though the superb special effects are far less chaotic and sensible. The suits, both digital and practical, are at times indistinguishable.

Iron Man is a surprisingly low key and somber start to the loaded summer movie season. It’s not the intense, action-loaded brawl the trailers make it out to be. It’s a superhero movie with a heart and a purpose, tossing away the goofy fun of such films as Fantastic Four in an effort to give fans something more. It’s admirable, and most importantly, wildly successful as a piece of escapist entertainment.