“Iron Man” tells the story of genius billionaire weapons designer Tony Stark who, after a horrific turn of events, changes the focus of his energies from the business of destruction to doing good. The film opens with Stark (Robert Downey Jr., “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”) trekking through Afghanistan with a US military convoy, mercilessly belittling his uptight escorts with his aloof wit and playboy charm (he apparently scored with all twelve Maxim Magazine cover models in one year). That is until an IED tears through the convoy and Stark gets blown up by his own bombs. Through an interlude of flashbacks, we find out about Stark the brilliant scientist and those closest to him: his best friend and military liaison Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard, “Hustle and Flow”); his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow, looking ravishing as a red head); and his deviously ambitious business partner Obadiah Stane (a barely recognizable Jeff Bridges). We then learn that Stark was in Afghanistan to demonstrate Stark Industries’ latest WMD when all hell breaks loose.
