Full of art and heart, an ‘Iron’-clad hit

"Iron Man" is a name that suits its star, Robert Downey Jr.

He's not musclebound, by any means, but he has shown admirable staying power. Not so long ago, Downey Jr. was on his way to being dead - drugs, multiple stints in rehab, DUI raps, gun charges.

The epitaphs written for Heath Ledger and River Phoenix appeared to be shaping up for Downey Jr. - a talented kid, but one of the lost.

In the end, though, one of his rehabs stuck. He was lucky. So are we. Always one of the best actors of his generation, Downey Jr. has rebounded with performances ("Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," "Zodiac") that remind us of that.

"Iron Man" is another, maybe because he knows this character so well. Tony Stark, after all, is a celebrity living a frivolous life until a near-death experience forces him to re-evaluate his priorities, to focus on worthwhile things.

Stark is the son of a Howard Hughes-like genius/entrepreneur who inherits dad's defense conglomerate. Tony also inherits his father's head for technology, as well as his philosophy that free nations are strong because they nurture individuals and encourage innovation, ensuring that advanced technology remains in the hands of the righteous.

His worldview changes when he's ambushed and captured during a missile demo in Afghanistan, and sees his company's black market weapons used to kill U.S. troops.

Swarthy terrorists demand that Stark build them deadly missiles, but he secretly builds a suit of militarized body armor (think RoboCop), one that becomes a prototype for the machine that enables Stark to roam the world as justice-dispensing Iron Man, righting wrongs, including those wrought by his own company.

There's a lot to like about the movie's iconography - like the glowing mini-reactor that the injured Stark devises to keep his damaged heart pumping. It's the same device that makes Iron Man aerodynamic and invincible.

The idea is that technology joined with compassion is a marvelous thing. To that end, the movie's money shot finds Iron Man confronting terrorists who are using civilians as shields - Iron Man uses laser targeting to differentiate targets, then kills the bad guys with a single burst. Exploitation? Wish-fulfillment? I don't know, but it's irresistible.

"Iron Man" is refreshingly pro-technology, even pro-military. Terrence Howard has a substantial role as a Joint Chiefs type who makes sure that the military knows what Iron Man is up to, and vice versa.

The movie is not, however, pro-business. It makes a distinction between the entrepreneur and the capitalist (shades of "The Aviator"), embodied here by Jeff Bridges as a Stark Industries CEO. How do we know he's bad? One clue is his name. Obadiah Stane. Try getting that out of your carpet.

Bridges has great fun with the role, as does Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Stark's keenly efficient personal assistant and potential love interest.

It is she who's caught in the middle of a climactic face-off between Iron Man and a Stark industries heavy wearing a corporate copy of the gorgeous Iron Man suit.

Here again, the design is amusing. Iron Man is an Art Deco masterpiece that functions flawlessly, the corporate version a bulky, bug-prone knockoff that spews carbon.

Their fight is a silly one - the same kind of nonhuman effects extravaganza that eventually killed "Transformers" - and savvy director Jon Favreau keeps it mercifully brief.

So you can enjoy "Iron Man" (under two hours, if you skip the credits) without being one. *

Produced by Avi Arad and Kevin Feige, directed by Jon Favreau, written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, music by Ramin Djawadi, distributed by Paramount Pictures.