A military convoy travels down a deserted road in Afghanistan on high alert. Their mission: to protect the CEO of America?s largest weapons development company, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).

Sudden explosions rock the theater; Stark is struck with shrapnel from his own company’s bomb as it lays waste to the barren land. Hours later, he awakes in an underground cavern, held captive by a violent terrorist group.

Thus begins Marvel’s newest superhero flick, Iron Man, featuring a different type of high-tech hero.

He discovers that the terrorists intend to hold him prisoner long enough to force him to create one of his company’s newest WMDs–the devastating Jericho missile capable of leveling a city.

Stark, however, has different plans. By using the supplies given to him to build the terrorist?s weapon, he constructs a colossal, flamethrower-wielding, bulletproof suit.

He escapes in the suit and begins his journey back to America. Once home, Stark views his company in a different light: After seeing his own company’s weapons used by the enemy, Stark decides to shut down the corporation and focus instead on his next greatest project – building Iron Man.

Isolating himself, he spends his time perfecting a stronger and more advanced Iron Man than his first prototype, seen only by his faithful assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), his best friend Lt. Colonel James Rhodes (Terrence Howard) and business partner and friend Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges).

As Iron Man’s technology advances, the movie unfolds to reveal an involved plot against Stark, pitching him against former comrades in a classic good versus evil fanfare.

Although the story may seem like a typical superhero plot, but Marvel manages to transform a two-dimensional tale into a Blockbuster full of special effects, stunning battle scenes and Stark’s characteristic humor.

While the premise of Iron Man appears completely ridiculous, director Jon Favreau and producer Avi Arad incorporate sufficient action and individuality to send Iron Man rocketing past its comic book companions. Designers show incredible aspects of the indestructible suit and Downey Jr. brings a hunk of CGI metal to life through a convincing performance.

Stark and his formidable enemy, who is also wielding an Iron Man Suit, provide an intense fight scene with a multitude of weapons at their disposal. The two giants battle each other with no restrictions, busting and smashing their way through buildings, roads and cars.

Despite the action-packed and captivating story, the movie’s flaw lies in the difficulty of discerning how much time has elapsed in the actual plot. However, with an additional hour and a half, this minor problem could have been fixed.

Aside from the few plot flaws, Iron Man features decent acting, intense special effects and a spin on the classic superhero flick, which sets it apart from the other films in the clich