WARNING: the final paragraph of this review contains spoilers. 

Two words: kick ass.  Iron Man has the wherewithal, edge, and “withitness,” to give it to viewers straight—without a chaser.  It’s ballsy, unabashed, and gallant—fully-equipped to dazzle.  Moreover, Iron Man dares to dance around other superhero flicks with its rock-n’-roll bullhorns raised.  That’s right; Iron Man extends its gold-titanium alloy index and pinky fingers and thrusts to the top of the genre.No joke, Iron Man is like a head-banging super summer concert with AC/DC’s “Back in Black” as the opener and Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” as the encore.  This motion-picture drives you to hook up Guitar Hero (or better yet Rock Band), put your right hand in the air, and rock out in celebration of this amped-up superhero adaptation.  Manly men and comic-book nerds unite; a colossal Marvel franchise is on the rise. 

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the wealthy C.E.O. of Stark Industries, a manufacturing firm of military weaponry.  Stark loves to drink hard, womanize, and engineer electronics.  After presenting his latest weapon – the Jericho missile – to American soldiers in Afghanistan, Stark is taken captive by a group of terrorists called "The Order of the Ten Rings."  Their leader, Raza (Fahan Tahir), orders Stark to build the Jericho for them.  Once he is given ample supplies and a translator/assistant in Yinsen (Shaun Toub), Stark creates a heavily armored suit – powered by a miniature arc reactor – instead of constructing the Jericho and escapes from captivity. 

Upon returning to the U.S., Stark calls for the shutdown of the company’s weapons manufacturing division and begins working on a project of his own.  As Stark’s business contemporary Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) and the Stark Industries’ board question the C.E.O.’s redefining of their company’s output, Stark diligently works on enhancing his armored suit prototype.  The finished product is gold and “hot-rod” red and serves as Stark’s exoskeleton in his fight against terrorism and effort to uphold justice.Along side Stark is his secretary Virginia “Pepper” Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and armed-forces liaison Jim “Rhodey” Rhodes (Terrence Howard).  Yet, when Obadiah Stane decides to betray Stark and manufacture his own armored suit (Iron Monger), it is only Pepper who plays a key role in Iron Man’s survival.  Rhodey opts to get in on the fun “next time.”