"Iron Man" *** (out of four): Saddled with a fairly typical superhero "origin story", director Jon Favreau compensates with some inspired choices: keeping the pace as fast as possible and casting Robert Downey Jr. as the man behind the mask.

This is the story of a billionaire playboy who, after a life-altering tragedy, constructs a superhero suit for use in an obsessive quest to fight for justice. No, this isn't another reworking of the "Batman" franchise (Christopher Nolan's 2005 version will do quite nicely, thank you). This is "Iron Man" - Marvel Comics' distant, more well-armed cousin. And aside from the above description, "Iron Man" couldn't be more different from the story of the legendary Caped Crusader.

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