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"Superman"? Not interested. "Hulk"? Pass. Even this summer's big "Batman" flick would not have done a thing for me, had it not been for Heath Ledger's Joker.

So, I guess I'm not exactly the target demographic for a movie like "Iron Man," which is now out on DVD.

Why a guy like Robert Downey Jr. would want to do a superhero movie in the first place is beyond me. But once you resign yourself to the idea that a gifted actor like him is willing to spend half the film in a hulking, hot-rod-painted titanium exoskeleton, then you can actually see what's in it for him. For the first hour, when he's not in that silly suit, the movie soars.

Downey plays Tony Stark, a callow brainiac who's a cross between Bill Gates and Hugh Hefner, who just so happens to be a whiz at designed high-tech weapons for the military. But when he's in Afghanistan showing off his latest wares, he's kidnapped by terrorists, who want him to build them one of his futuristic weapons to give the U.S.A. a taste of its own medicine.

Holed up in a cave, Downey gets to work. But instead of a missile, he builds the prototype for an Iron Man suit, takes out the bad guys, and escapes.

Back in the U.S. with his gal Pepper Potts (played by a charmingly low-key Gwyneth Paltrow), he has a change of heart about his life's work – against the wishes of his partner, played by Jeff Bridges, who sports some awesome facial hair.

I wouldn't want to give away what happens when Downey gets into his heavy-metal garb in the second half of the film because, first, it wouldn't be fair to anyone who hasn't seen it, and second, I kind of tuned out. It was just another superhero flying and blowing stuff up in ways we've all seen a million times before.

But for a while there, I have to admit, "Iron Man" had me.

Now, for a look at what else is new on DVD: in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," Harrison Ford's back to fight the Russians; in "Beetlejuice," Tim Burton's creepy comedy turns 20; and in "The Simpsons," the 11th season from Springfield gets a boxed set.