By Aimee O'Connor

*** 1/2 "Iron Man"

And here we are again. Another summer, another big budget Hollywood no-brainer.

People love superheroes, robots and explosions, why not release a movie that incorporates all three to an extravagant degree? Take a dash of "Spiderman," sift in a little "Transformers" and what do you have? Box office gold, that's what; an unsinkable monster, a future franchise, and a teetering probability of failure.

Under development since 1990, director Jon Favreau mans the ship in 2008 and channels his inner Michael Bay in the big screen comic book adaptation of "Iron Man," luckily steering his film out of shallow waters and into predictably pleasant streams, dodging failure by following Bay's code: keep 'em entertained.

Favreau does exactly as expected: presents a flashy, jaunty, eager-to-please blockbuster spectacular that's as self-aware as it is super fun. Since debuting in 1963, Stan Lee's story about a wealthy industrialist superhero who builds a suit of impenetrable armor has entertained generations of Marvel loyalists, and now, almost half a century later, Hollywood is banking on X-Box loyalists to consume the film with the same wide-eyed admiration. The big screen no-brainer is neither brainless nor pretentious, it exists as a summer escapist movie should exist: loud, silly, well-acted and worth buying popcorn for.

Our well-suited superhero is played by a lead as unexpected as "Spiderman's" Tobey Maguire. The charmingly underrated actor's actor Robert Downey Jr., recently flying under the radar on screen in critically praised but little seen pictures such as "A Scanner Darkly" and last year's highly lauded "Zodiac," effortlessly grabs the title role of "Iron Man" and runs with it. Downey Jr. snarks and monotones his dialogue as Tony Stark, billionaire industrialist, gifted engineer and lonely egomaniac. On a trip to Afghanistan during a weapons tour in which Stark unveils a catastrophic cluster bomb, a group of terrorists attack Stark and his crew, subsequently kidnapping and forcing the bewildered businessman to build a replica of a powerful missile manufactured by his own industry.

Instead, Stark builds a suit made of awesome, escaping the camp after 3 months of entrapment, battling his captors in his futuristic, homemade robot suit equipped with missiles, rockets and giant metal hands and feet which he uses to smash walls and punch terrorists sky high. It's all very silly and kind of cool, and Stark agrees, upon his return he vows to quit building weapons and work on a souped-up version of his robotic armor.

There's a villain, Jeff Bridges as Stark's shady business partner Obadiah Stane; a love interest, Gwyneth Paltrow as Stark's loyal assistant Pepper Potts; and even a sidekick of sorts, Terrence Howard as Stark's friend, Air Force Lt. Colonel Jim Rhodes. And of course, there are explosions. Lots and lots of explosions.

Though the cast is comprised of Oscar winners and nominees, don't expect the film to veer into subversive territory, Favreau paints his movie in subtler hues than the successful "Spidey" franchise, but doesn't darken the tone. Any instance when hope for a deeper meaning glimmers within the film is immediately dashed by delicious fast food product placement (Stark demands an American cheeseburger upon his return - from Burger King) and Jeff Bridges, who comically whizzes down a hallway on a Segway scooter (what an evil dork!)

I suppose any film that features a computer generated robot battle shouldn't try to say much about society other than "forget about reality for a couple hours, watch these special effects instead." Favreau wraps up his own American cheeseburger for the public in the form of a summer blockbuster, a double whopper with cheese that manages to go down easily with his audience because he follows Bay's code without offending the material.

Favreau honors the original comic without exploiting it, presents a silly product without completely dumbing it down and chooses leads that have proven themselves as talented actors dedicated to their craft. (Though Paltrow has an Oscar on her shelf, she could have emoted a bit more, maybe years of listening to Coldplay has rendered her brittle and icy on screen.)

More importantly, here's a franchise worth taking a look at, even if it is a ridiculous mess of cliches and special effects. Let's hope Downey Jr.'s signature cocky charisma and deadpan delivery doesn't wear thin in future flicks, because as much as people love a good explosion, they also love a good leading man. I think they've found their hero, Downey Jr. rescues and delivers "Iron Man" from gluttonous overkill to a savory summertime snack.

- Now playing at CinemaWorld, Lincoln, 622 George Washington Highway, 401-333-8676, cinemaworldonline.com.