Rated: PG
Distributor: Berjaya HVN

Though many fanboys will disagree, or perhaps even fly into a homicidal rage, it must be said that Iron Man is superior to The Dark Knight in many ways. Don't get me wrong, The Dark Knight is a superlative superhero flick, one of the greatest films of all time in fact, but the thing about Iron Man is that you can actually, like, let your kids watch it without fear of them suffering any permanent psychological damage.

Aren't comic-book superheroes supposed to be for kids?
Iron Man is also funny, loose-limbed and hopeful, three important qualities that can't be ascribed to The Dark Knight, given its dour protagonist, nihilistic villain and almost unrelentingly bleak world view.

Perhaps it's unfair to compare the two films, but it's just interesting that two such different superhero movies were released at nearly the same time, and that each seemed to capture the zeitgeist in its own particular way: The Dark Knight comes across as an avatar of post-911 malaise; Iron Man seemed to represent the start of a new era of healing, growth and optimism.

Anyway, there's no reason to not love both films, and to count ourselves lucky for the bountiful superhero summer of 2008.

For those who may have missed Iron Man during its initial release (for shame!), here's a brief rundown of the action. A resurgent Robert Downey Jr plays Tony Stark: bon vivant, weapons manufacturer and technological wizard. When he is kidnapped by terrorists in Afghanistan who try to force him to build a high-tech weapons system, he somehow manages to build a power suit that helps him escape his captors.

When he gets back to the US, he builds an even more powerful power suit, and dedicates himself to fighting baddies, putting him in direct conflict with his business partner, Obadiah Stane, who just wants to keep making weapons the jerk. Stane eventually steals Stark's plans for the power suit, which sets up the final showdown.

Downey's performance is so breezy and charming that it would almost seems more appropriate for a romantic comedy. At the same time, he handles the derring-do with aplomb. Not to take anything away from Christian Bale, but scowling intensity is easier to pull off than what Downey does with Stark. Who could ever forget his comically dysfunctional relationship with his robot?

The extras are sadly very meager, with only deleted and extended scenes. -Jason Johnson