3 stars out of 4 -- "In IRON MAN, Downey's likably snide playboy character is cut from the same anti-hero cloth as Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow..."
USA Today

"[I]t's got an energetic, engaging performance by Robert Downey Jr....This part has been nicely tailored to Downey's talents and is a great deal of fun as a result."
Los Angeles Times

"The well-crafted IRON MAN is one of the smartest superhero films to come down the pike in some time....Robert Downey Jr. again reveal why he is one of the best actors of his generation..."
Chicago Sun-Times

"[A]n unusually good superhero picture....The film benefits from a script that generally chooses clever dialogue over manufactured catchphrases...and also from a crackerjack cast that accepts the filmmakers's invitation to do some real acting..."
New York Times

"[Favreau] draws on his humanistic gifts to make IRON MAN a compellingly down-to-earth superhero fantasy..." -- Grade: B+
Entertainment Weekly

"There's winning comedy in Stark's suit-making misadventures, involving a dash of Wile E. Coyote slapstick and some terrific deadpanning from Downey Jr.. And the acting-powerhouse cast doesn't disappoint."
Empire

"It has Downey's spirited turn going for it, as well as rousing sequences of various models of Iron Man armour in action....It makes a lot of clever decisions..."
Sight and Sound

3 stars out of 4 -- "Seeing Downey and Bridges duel is one of the film's primary delights..."
Premiere

4 stars out of 5 -- "A cad-to-crusader origin story, it's funny, smart, charming -- all the attributes of its star."
Total Film