If you discount the constraints that apply to all Marvel superhero movies - moments of saccharine sentimentality,  family-friendliness and the sickening requisite that is a cameo by Stan "Hey, I came up with all these characters Lee, then Iron Man rises from mere popcorn B-movie to bona fide action masterpiece.

Robert Downey Jr - as has come to be the norm in his post-2000 comeback phase - is superb as fast-talking, fast-living gazillionaire, Tony Stark. Cut to the Middle East, where, after being caught in a roadside explosion, the roguish arms manufacturer awakens as a captive of a stereotpical Al Qaeda-esque group.  He's being kept alive by a car battery  - don't ask - and, in an attempt to get out alive, builds the Iron Man suit: version 1.0.

He returns to the US, where his business partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges is a big, bad serpent of a villain - by the way, where has he been all this time?!), is anything but pleased to see him. Corporate enmity aside, the driving plot point is Stark's realisation that helping people is good (admittedly, not the most profound of realisations). He resolves to build the Iron Man suit: version 2.0 and redress a few of the Middle East's ills.

I won't bore you with, or, to be honest, I can't be bothered trying to condense, the rest of the plot. Suffice to say: the VFX kick arse, Gwyneth Paltrow, as Stark's butleress Pepper Potts, is the consummate girl next door and the action/comedy blend works a treat.

But this is Downey Jr's movie. His presence is palpable and the bloke simply owns every scene. Props must also go to director Jon Favreau, who turns in a cameo as Stark's driver. He's done a fine job of delivering a blockbuster that doesn't reek of lameness but is instead punchy and amusing. A trilogy is in the works and although that means two more guaranteed appearances by the grating Stan Lee, it also means a couple more potential action gems. Bring on number two!