REEL CRITICS:

The 2008 summer movie season is officially underway with its first $100-million opening weekend. Marvel Comics’ rip-roaring blockbuster “Iron Man� has set a high mark for other big studio films to follow. Of course, it has top-notch special effects. But the excellent acting, fine pacing and a screenplay with a sharp edge elevate this superhero flick to the top echelon of its genre.

Robert Downey Jr. brings thoughtful gravitas to the starring role as Tony Stark, a conflicted engineering genius who is also a billionaire playboy. His giant company makes the best military hardware in the world. He undergoes traumatic events while visiting Afghanistan on a Pentagon tour. This leads him to develop the mechanized iron suit that transforms him into a superhuman weapons platform.

Gwyneth Paltrow plays Stark’s multitasking personal assistant. She brings a perfect blend of stunning good looks and high intelligence to her character. Jeff Bridges plays Stark’s business partner. There are some formulaic Hollywood elements in this production, but they are given many new twists and turns that take this effort to a higher level. It’s pure popcorn fun that is sure to please a very wide audience of all ages.

Documentary underscores Abu Ghraib mysteries

Four years after the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, we still aren’t sure whether the infamous photographs taken in the Iraqi prison were evidence of rampant abuse by the American military, or staged by a few people who remained “outside the frame� for their own perverse agendas.

Errol Morris’ haunting documentary “Standard Operating Procedure� raises these doubts in an attempt to offer an analysis of the photos firsthand by some of the American soldiers, men and women, who were seen in them.

Watching these people relentlessly and quietly talk about their actions, you get the sense that they were caught up in a nightmare they did not fully understand.

Some express remorse; others still seem in angry denial for their involvement.

Sifting through thousands of photographs and hours of interviews, Morris is only able to paint a small glimpse of the medieval hell the prison must have been for both the prisoners and their interrogators.

These were mostly very young Americans who, if they can be believed, were only following orders — but whose?

The prisoners did not yield any substantial information about terrorism or Saddam Hussein’s whereabouts.

And after the photos were made public, why were there no military above the rank of staff sergeant held responsible for these terrors?

“Standard Operating Procedure� is a powerful and disturbing film and not for the squeamish. It does not give us any answers, only more questions.

JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office. SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.