Iron Man (12A) ****

3:10pm Friday 2nd May 2008

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WITH great power comes great responsibility... and an equally great temptation to abuse that power for significant personal and financial gain.

The tug-of-war between altruism and materialism is at the heart of Iron Man, Jon Favreau's marvellous nuts and bolts realisation of the red and gold armoured Marvel Comics superhero.

Following the lead of the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises, Favreau devotes the majority of the opening hour to the characters.

He fleshes out their personalities, insecurities and the underlying tensions (attraction, jealousy, irritation) which light the fuse on an action-oriented second half, awash with spectacular visual effects from the technical wizards at Industrial Light & Magic.

The central role of a billionaire industrialist, whose conscience is pricked after a brush with death, fits Robert Downey Jr like a titanium-plated glove.

He's charming and roguish yet reckless with other people's emotions, and he galvanizes a sizzling screen chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow as the personal assistant who barely flutters an eyelash at the endlessly array of one-night stands who parade through her employer's cliff-side mansion.

Brilliant inventor and consummate playboy Tony Stark (Downey Jr) is held hostage in Afghanistan by insurgents under the command of Raza (Faran Tahir), who demands he builds a devastating Jericho missile for use against American forces.

Instead, Tony and fellow prisoner of war Yinsen (Shaun Toub) use the time in captivity to fashion an ultra-strong suit of armour and orchestrate a daring escape.

Found wandering the desert by his good friend Lieutenant Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Terrence Howard), Tony returns to America a changed man.

"I saw Americans killed by the weapons I created to protect them," he tells the press.

He then announces the immediate shutdown of the weapons manufacturing arm of Stark Industries, to the shock and surprise of right-hand man Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges).

Unfortunately, members of the board freeze out Tony and soon he is fighting for control of his own company, aided by his feisty assistant Virginia "Pepper" Potts (Paltrow).

Iron Man is terrifically entertaining, fuelled by Favreau's kinetic direction, strong performances and some thrilling action sequences. Downey Jr relishes the comic asides of his character before the transformation into his eponymous alter ego.

Repartee with Paltrow promises plenty of laughs, like when Pepper stumbles into the lab to find Tony's robots struggling to remove his armour.

"Let's face it. This is not the worst thing you've caught me doing," he grins.

Bridges adds plenty of bombast but Howard is almost surplus to requirements.

Potential for a bigger role in the sequel is made explicit when Rhodey stares at a spare Iron Man suit and sighs, "Maybe next time".

Tony's initial tests in his laboratory are a hoot, investing his robotic assembly line with almost human qualities (especially watch out for the fire extinguisher).

Keep your eyes peeled too for the obligatory cameo by Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee (who Tony mistakes for Playboy legend Hugh Hefner).

• See it at Empire, Odeon, ABC