Iron Man is one of the best superhero films made. The storyline is great, depicting Tony Stark's transformation into Iron Man , and how he is forced to fight Iron Monger, who tried to have him killed.
The violence is moderate. We see a torture scene where Tony Stark is dunked underwater, and another where his asistent nearly swallows a hot coal. There is also some blood; tony stark bleeds after being hit by a missle and is then operated on (we see a brief bloody wound), a villian has part of the skin on his head missing and we see his veins (not too graphic). In non-bloody scenes, we see iron Man killing multiple henchmen in two scenes, and we see Iron man and Iron monger figting during the finale. During Iron monger's death, we see him being electroquted (no blood, not graphic at all).
There is a brief sex scene, where we see Tony making out with a reporter on a bed, and then falling off of it. Stark is fully clothed, and the woman has a shirt and panties. In the next scene, we see the woman naked in bed (the only thing we see his her bare back).
We also hear talk about martinis, and see Stark drinking in one scene.
Overall, an excellent and must see film, and in my opinion, Marvel's best film.
Kids 12 and up should be OK, as long as they aren't scared by the scene where Stark is operated on. Iron Man is also iffy for 10-11. The biggest concern is the sex scene, which may leave parents having to have an awkward discussion with younger kids afterwards.
The mesage is also good, showing how Stark, a millionaire playboy, discovers his true purpose in life. I give it 5 out of 5. It isn't as good as The Dark knight but comes extremely close to it.