Iron Man

There’s something inherently funny about a nerdy scientist type in a crisp white shirt firing a machine gun - an image that appears within the first forty minutes of Iron Man. That’s one of the film’s strengths; although not obviously a comedy, there are several laugh out loud moments - in a dark sort of way.

The film is exceedingly violent, although not gory. It’s comic book violence, made slightly disturbing by the fact that the film is live action. This has the effect of making one feel slightly guilty for laughing at it, although, at times, you just plain can’t help it.

The film opens when Tony Stark, played by an excellent Robert Downey jr, is kidnapped through force enhanced by his own weapons, and ordered to construct his latest missile for the use of his attackers. As is apparent from the trailer, he instead fashions a full suit of body armour, which he uses to escape.

Having seen the effect of his own weapons in...