Iron Man
Iron Man (2008)
"I shouldn't be alive... unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."
This film's story is pretty standard within the Marvel canon, even before the MCU was a thing. Selfish guy experiences trauma; comes to newfound power as a direct result of the trauma; sees the error of his ways and becomes a force for good in the world. This is a pretty well-worn trope even outside the comics realm, and it's something that many Marvel movies have taken flack for in the past. Here's the thing though the reason stories like this are so often told is because they work and they connect with the audience. As human beings, there's very little we like more than a redemption story, and Marvel, as both a publisher of comic books and as a movie studio, excels at this type of tale.
It's hard to remember since the MCU has been an absolute box office juggernaut over the past several years that this movie was quite the gamble back in 2008. Superhero movies were not exactly critical darlings back, and Marvel had sold off the rights to its most popular comic book heroes, like Spider-Man and the X-Men. The best option they had was a B-List hero whose superpower was money. Fortunately, Marvel scored a terrific director in Favreau, who, unlike many directors of comic book movies before him, treated the source material with just the right amount of reverence but still updated Iron Man's origin story to appeal to modern audiences. The result was a passable, if not well-worn, story with engaging characters (more on that later), exciting action set pieces, decent special effects and a good amount of humor. It became a formula that Marvel has stuck pretty close to over these past 13 years, and no one can argue that doesn't work.
Finally, I should touch on the impact this movie has had on modern cinema as a whole. This film started off a trend in movies that many have tried to duplicate, but none have actually come close to, The Shared Universe. While 2012's Avengers gets most of the credit for really launching the MCU, it's this movie that really started it all. The mere idea that heroes from different franchises could come and go into other heroes' movies was something that I, as a comic fan, had dreamed of for decades. With one short little after-credits scene, this movie made those dreams come to fruition. So, regardless of what one might think of the movie as a whole, respect needs to be given to Kevin Feige, and John Favreau for basically changing the way movies are made.
Acting:
Would this movie have been as successful as it was if they had cast any other actor in Tony Stark's role? Probably not. Robert Downey Jr. is one of those movie stars of old that just emits charisma, and it's difficult not to like him. Even if he's playing a fairly unlikeable character, much like Tony is at the beginning of the film. We stick with him, though, because of that Downey charm. He's also a damn fine actor to boot.
Jeff Bridges plays the film's primary antagonist, Obadiah Stane. Bridges is one of the most versatile actors out there, and I think if the film was made 20 years ago, he'd be a good choice to play Tony Stark. Instead, he settles for the heavy in Iron Man and starts off portraying Stane as the wise mentor figure, who turns out to be more than the audience expects. It's not an unexpected twist, but the way Bridges plays it, you believe it.
I also want to give Gwyneth Paltrow a shout-out for her turn as Tony's assistant Pepper Potts. While the female lead role in a superhero film can often be a thankless job, Paltrow is given a fairly well-rounded character that's not reduced to a mere damsel to be saved in the third act. On the contrary, Pepper is a strong and capable woman who's a perfect foil for Tony without falling into the "nagging" girl trying to spoil the hero's fun trope.
The rest of the cast is solid, from Terence Howard's frequently exasperated Col. Rhodes to John Favreau's cheerful sidekick, Happy to Paul Bettany's iconic voice work for JARVIS. All in all, it's a well-cast movie.
Stan Lee Cameo:
Since this was the first MCU movie, it was also Stan's first cameo in an MCU movie (although he'd done plenty of cameos in Marvel movies produced by other studios). It's almost a blink, and you'll miss it, cameo, where he's either supposed to be or is just mistaken for Hugh Hefner. It's a pretty funny cameo and a happy find for all those True Believers out there. Excelsior!
Visual/Special Effects:
Finally, I have something to write in this section after reviewing several movies in a row that didn't have much effect. The special effects in this film are pretty solid. There's liberal use of CGI (mostly when portraying the various suits of armor in the film), and for the most part, they look pretty good. Favreau makes a point to have many these CGI shots take place at night or in the dark to ensure that any spotty effects are less noticeable, and it works for the most part. However, the suits aren't all CGI, and there's a fair amount of practical work as well, which looks pretty great overall. For a movie that's over a decade old, the effects hold up surprisingly well.
Score/Soundtrack:
Ramin Djawadi of Game of Thrones fame was the composer on this film, and he does a solid if unspectacular job. I've always thought Iron Man's theme to be the least memorable of all of the MCU's main heroes. It not bad or anything, just...meh. It's certainly not up to what Djawadi did in the aforementioned TV series, but it not awful. The film also includes a soundtrack boast hits from major bands like Black Sabbath and AC/DC, which pushes the film's music into a positive for me. I mean, how can you not like AC/DC?
Action:
There's a decent amount of action in this film because, duh, it's a comic book movie. Highlights include Tony's escape from the Ten Rings terrorists and Iron Man's encounter with the fighter jets. My favorite action sequence, though, is Iron Man's liberation of the village of Gulmira. Not only does Tony get to whoop some terrorist ass, but he also gets to reap a little revenge against the thugs who captured him. Plus, it's the first real opportunity for the audience to see how cool and badass the Iron Man armor is.
If there was a disappointing action sequence for me, it was probably the final fight between Tony and Obadiah Stane's Iron Monger armor. There are some decent set-pieces in it, but to me, it just seemed a little flat - especially when compared to the action earlier in the film.
After Credit Sequence:
One of the hallmarks of the MCU is after-credit scenes. While it's not uncommon nowadays for these films to have two of these types of scenes, Iron Man has just one, but it's a pretty important one. This is basically the after-credit sequence heard around the world. It shows us the first encounter between Tony and the spy of all spies, Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson). There's nothing much to this scene; it's really just two dudes talking. But what it suggests was that not only did Tony Stark exist in a wider world, but so did this movie. Nick's mere mention of the word "Avengers" got every comic book fan around the world all lathered up because it suggested something that had never really been attempted before. An interconnected universe of movies, not unlike Marvel's comics and that was exciting to think about.
Final Verdict:
When I mention my favorite MCU movies, this one rarely pops up. It's almost been lost amidst its more popular brethren. It reminds me a bit of Dr. No in the sense that the filmmakers hadn't quite nailed the formula yet, but you can see the genesis of it, and it's pretty exciting. Oh, and it's a pretty fun movie too.
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