Iron Man is an AWESOME beginning to this summer's movies

Most comic book movies that contain an origin story take a while to get going, but Iron Man has explosions right out of the gate. Now they do spend time developing Tony Stark and his transformation into Iron Man, but they develop his character throughout the movie and keep the movie exciting and action packed from beginning to end.

Casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark was perfect. He does a better job filling his shoes than any comic book actor since Christopher Reeve. He pulls off a great mixture of cockiness, brilliance and humor in his amazing portrayal of Tony Stark. He does a great job in transforming from the billionaire playboy only in it for himself to superhero out to save the world and making the transition very believable and seamless. And Gwyneth Paltrow is a nice little surprise as Pepper. She has great chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. and is the perfect complement to him. And solid performances by Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges and the rest of the cast.

The special effects kick ass. The effects for Iron Man are great looking and I didn't feel like I was watching CGI. They didn't cover any great new ground that other movies haven't done, but all the effects in the movie are solid!!

This is definitely a great start to this summer's movie season. While the story in the film isn't as deep and complex as Batman Begins, it serves as a perfect backdrop to deliver the great performances by the cast and to this action packed blockbuster. While this movie doesn't redefine comic book movies or cover any new ground, everything from the cast and directing to the action and story work great, with very little downside.

Also make sure to stay until the end of the credits for a cool little surprise...