Brief Iron Man Review

I actually had to leave the theater for work before the movie ended (I understand there's more after the credits) when I went to catch a matinee the Friday it opened (the showing I wanted was sold out! Why aren't those kids in school?!?!); but I plan to do that rarity, and pay bucks to see it again today.

Basically, this comment by Jerry Bowyer reflects part of the movie's appeal for me:

Marvel gets us again because Iron Man is an entrepreneur. In fact, horror of horrors, he inherited the business from his father. In double fact (duck, incoming spoilers), the only Americans who oppose him are the lackeys of his upper-middle-management corporate weenie COO.

The first half of the movie is an uncensored love note to US soldiery and capatalistic engineering ingenuity. In fact, Bill Gates has a photographic cameo early on. Also, note, our beloved, equity-loving Jim Cramer has a hillarious cameo about midway through the film.

Yes, Iron Man, an arms manufacturer, does make a public announcment about walking away from the missile business, but only so he can build the ultimate missile and then wear it like a suit. Like Bruce Wayne before him, Iron Man is a billionaire. He gives some of it away, but he keeps most of it himself, and uses it to make things, including the kinds of things that kill Jihadi terrorists.