Iron Man (2008)

Tony Stark is kidnapped while in Afganistan to show off a new weapon his company has made. The rebels who grab him demand that he make a rocket for them. When Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) realizes he'll be killed after he delivers the product, he makes a robot instead. Yelsin (Shaun Taub), who's also a prisoner of the rebels, helps him to build it. Stark stages a daring escape, but unfortunately Yinsen is killed. Before he dies, Yinsen basically tells Stark to think about how he'll live his life from here on in.

As soon as Stark returns to the States, he announces he getting out of the business of being a war profiteer. This does not sit well with either his business partner Obadiah (Jeff Bridges) or his long-time friend, Jim Rhodes (Terrance Howard), who is a military officer. Stark secretly works on another version of the robot he made in Afganistan. The experience over there has made him a changed man in terms of how he'll use his talents for the world.

This is a different type of superhero movie, as the man behind the mask is not completely a good guy. Stark is a mega-rich playboy who drinks too much, and often frustrates and irritates the few people who are closest to him, including his assistant Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). His genius has made Stark a bit arrogant, too. Action is displayed, but the emphasis is more on character than it usually is in films of this genre.

Downey (Chaplin, 1992) and Bridges (Starman, 1984) are Oscar nominated actors. Ms. Paltrow won a Best Actress Oscar for Shakespeare In Love (1998). Howard was in The Brave One (2007), alongside Jodie Foster.