Marvel Iron Man (2-Disc) (Blu-ray) Suit up for action with Robert Downey Jr. in the ultimate adventure movie you've been waiting for, "Iron Man"! When jet-setting genius-industrialist Tony Stark is captured in enemy territory, he builds a high-tech suit of armor to escape. Now, he's on a mission to savethe world as a hero who's built, not born, to be unlike any other. Co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges, it's a fantastic, high-flying journey that is "hugely entertaining" (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).

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 quit 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




Stills from Iron Man (Click for larger image)

By far the best well-rounded superhero movie... not to cheesy, plenty of action, and a believable plot.

Can't wait for a sequel

The whole family enjoyed this movie with it's futuristic gadgets and the adventure. Not too violent for my taste, and that's sometimes hard to find!

Best Movie of 2008, Robert Downey Jr shows his wide range playing Tony Stark. Looking forward to all the upcomming releases from Marvel Studios.

This is a great movie!!! I'm very pleased with Robert Downy Jr., his performance was the best!!! Can't want for a second one, the chemistry between Robert and Gwyneth was awesome!!! And I love Terrence Howard!!

There is a lot to `give away' in describing "Iron Man', but suffice it to say that the film makers have created the real Tony Stark. He is the rowdy billionaire responsible for building weapons of mass destruction and selling them to the enemy who then turns into a reluctant and then powerful `Iron Man'. The cinematography is stunning in Blu-ray and the scenes starting from Afghanistan to Los Angeles's skies are over-whelming. The action is intense, funny, witty and true to the character of the comic book character. Plus, it is all believable. Robert Downing, Jr. playing around with his Iron Man invention is nothing short of hilarious and thrilling. Gwyneth Paltrow is a bit underused as his assistant, but she supplies some killer one-liners. Jeff Bridges plays a role that truly threatens Iron Man, but that's all I'll say. The effects are fantastic, the storyline is fast and clever and it is no small wonder it broke box office records. On Blu-ray disc, it is just as good as being in a movie theater - the details, color and sound are that amazing! Tony Stark IS `Iron Man'.

All Blu-ray discs are set up differently according to their theme, but for Iron Man, I'll describe the screen imagery. The initial PLAY/SCENES board is a colorful statue of Iron Man with colorful, comic book scientific looking diagrams. Audio is available in English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. Subtitles are in English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese. There are some great extras like the `Hall of Armor' showing all four Iron Man designs, `The Invincible Iron man' and deleted scenes. These deletions are great, including, 'I Am Iron Man', `Visuals Effects of Iron Man', a fantastic `Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test'. 'The Actors Process' (Downing and Bridges get down with some real improvisations), a semi-spoof trailer from `The Onion' on Iron man,' Theatrical Trailers, Galleries, Credits and Subtitles. Not to leave anything out, more extras include six mini features such as `Friends and Foes' and "Demon in a Bottle". If you're really into Blu-ray, try connecting to the Internet for BD-Live capability. This is one of the Blu-ray features that put it so far and above regular DVD.