This week's new DVD releases reviewed by Donald Clarkeand Michael Dwyer
IRON MAN
Directed by Jon Favreau. Starring Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb 12 cert
Twitchy Robert Downey Jr is brilliant as the tortured billionaire, who, after escaping from Middle Eastern terrorists, decides to stop manufacturing weapons and start fighting crime in a flying metal suit. The action is a packed a little too tightly into the final act, but Iron Man, released here with extra scenes, remains a decent diversion.
THE MIST
Directed by Frank Darabont. Starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones 18 cert
When a small town in Maine is enveloped in a mysterious mist and besieged by hideous creatures, the locals take refuge in a supermarket. Darabont's third feature from a Stephen King story presents a bleak view of the human race when it comes to matters of self-preservation, and that is sustained to the movie's resolutely bitter end. MD
SPEED RACER
Directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski. Starring Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, Matthew Fox, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Roger Allam, Richard Roundtree PG cert
The Wachowski brothers follow their Matrix trilogy with a lavish reworking of the 1960s Japanese anime TV series. Hirsch is engaging as the ambitious racing driver in a hyper-stylised movie awash with CGI and visual effects, but the wispy scenario is unwisely padded out to more than two hours.
THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM
Directed by Rob Minkoff. Starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Liu Yifei 12 cert
A bland Boston teen (Angarano), who is consumed with martial arts movies, finds himself transported to ancient China. There he learns the art of kung fu from maestros played by Chan and Li in their first film together. Every time the action stops, the film grinds to a crawl as the thinly drawn characters exchange cliches. MD
LAND OF PLENTY
Directed by Wim Wenders. Starring Michelle Williams, John Diehl, Shaun Toub, Richard Edson, Burt Young 12 cert
The latest dire slice of preposterous Americana from the once great Wenders details the relationship between a paranoid Vietnam veteran and his positively minded Christian niece. All the usual cliches are wheeled out - yes, there's a road trip - to simultaneously celebrate American culture and mourn what has become of the nation's politics. Ugly, cheap, boring and naive.
