"Iron Man" (2008)

I didn't know what to expect going into this movie.  Had seen no previews, read practically zilch, and only knew that a number of sequels had been made.  Definitely grittier world background than I expected.  (Though, if I had no expectations, what was I comparing it to?)  Yet, the final battle lived up to the "larger than life" part of superhero movies.  This was definitely a visual movie.  Maybe that goes hand in hand with technology-and-mankind type investigations.  That doesn't mean sound wasn't there, or that there was only the occasional diegetic song.  That means the music and the sound was successfully invisible to the predominance of the visual stuff.  It also means that for me to hear it, I'd at very least need to watch it a 2nd time--and very likely, watch it with my eyes closed.  At least that's what it would take for me right now until I develop faster ears for listening to invisible sound.  It's very likely that in a movie like this, sound that was more visible would detract from the attempt to make this superhero world more likely, more "real"--a detraction that might make it seem more cheesy.  A good balance of action and soft, of I-gotta-figure-this out and people maneuvering.  And enough sustained suspense that I had to pause it a time or two, but only for a moment.  That's a good thing for me, and the sign of a good balance of things in a decent movie.  Nice job.

SPOILER ALERT:  Sound did make one story appearance.  The device that Obie used to paralyze people for all appearances just made a sound--a sound that told the audience it was a bad thing.   Meanwhile, there was no sound that story-wise said this was a good thing.  Granted such may not have fit into the plot, but it bears mentioning.  In a highly visual movie like this with nearly invisible sound, is sound totally a bad guy weapon?  I can think of other superhero movies and TV episodes where sound was a bad guy's weapon--several easily.  But sound as a good guy's weapon?  Nope, only cotton and earplugs.  Aren't there any good guys that use sound?  Perhaps one.  Wasn't there a cartoon space team of humans made part robots where one was a Texan?  Seems he might have fought with a guitar.  Maybe.  Not sure.  But that's the only one I can think of compared to all of the bad guy examples.