Iron Man ROCKS!.

My wife and I just got back from seeing Iron Man. I also just read Kyle Smith's review of the film at Pajamas Media.

Oh, please. Enough with the "Hollywood hates America" paranoia. Look, we all know that a bunch of people in Hollywood do, but not every film coming out of Tinsel Town has anti-Americanism undertones. (It's not paranoia when they really are out to get you, but it is paranoia where you see them where they ain't.)

First: The special effects in this film enhance - make it possible, in fact - but do not overwhelm the film.

Second: Robert Downey Jr. is outstanding, and the rest of the supporting cast ain't bad, either. Gwyneth Paltrow has never looked better. Somebody needs a Oscar nomination for casting.

Third: It's PG-13. Really. Unless you don't mind your small children watching Robert Downey Jr. rolling around in bed with a hot blonde (who gets up the next morning and wanders around his palatial house in nothing but one of his shirts), leave them at home.

I'm not going to write a review full of spoilers, but I take exception to this line from Smith's review:

You come to Iron Man to see a bullet-proof one-man flying tank, not hear a Ralph Nader lecture on how American industry is responsible for all the wars in the world.

Excuse me? Did we see the same film? Downey's character had witnessed a bunch of American soldiers killed with weapons that had his company's name on them. He had a negative reaction to that, and it's understandable and well-played.

I won't comment on the final fight scene - I didn't see Transformers, so I don't know how that film played out. I will say I thought it was terrific and I'd like to see it again.

The whole film (with the exception of the initial battle scene) was a lot of fun. I strongly recommend this film to anyone who likes the genre.