[Review] “Iron Man” (2008)
Iron man was released in 2008. The film was written Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and directed by Jon Favreau. The box office hit stars Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The plot revolves around a genius billionaire playboy, Tony Stark, who is held captive inside of a cave in Afghanistan. To escape he creates a weaponized suit of armor to fight the forces of evil as an upcoming threat rises.
I love this film. By god I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t. The film is 12 years old at the time that this article is published and wow, it still holds up. Everything from the sets, the CGI, the performances, even the story. The film is just great. This is definitely one of my Top 5 comic-book films of all time. I can’t get over how well the film takes it self seriously, but not too seriously. It understands the genre of movie it is. The film understands that it is supposed to be a fun action packed adventure with heart and that’s exactly what it is. Another great aspect that I love about this film is how real it is. Maybe I’m just fooling myself and being naive but the movie feels like the real world. It’s much more realistic than its other MCU counterparts, it’s almost hard to believe that this film takes place in the same universe as the others.
I was young when the movie was released. I remember sitting in the theater with my dad filled with excitement while I watched Iron Man take flight for the first time on the big screen. At that point I was more interested in the cool fight scenes and the suit. This isn’t the case anymore; now that I have rewatched the film again, I fully realized that it is a redemption story. The film is about a person who changes from a self-absorbed, egotistical businessman that doesn’t care about anyone other than himself, to a man that takes his first step towards becoming the savior of the universe.
Robert Downey Jr. makes the titular character nothing short of iconic. He’s charismatic as all hell and that’s what the audience loved to see from him. Watching his transformation from the beginning of the film to the end is like seeing two completely different people. I think that this speaks to how good of an actor RDJ really is. His transformation into the character is nothing short of seamless. His performance makes you leave the theater believing he is Iron Man Every line delivered has some form of substance to it even if it’s just playful banter. He brings life to the character and this film lays the foundation for the large imaginative universe of outlandish characters that it has in store for itself.
As far as villains go, I hate to say it but as much as I love Jeff Bridges, his villain was forgettable. Most people forget that he was even in the MCU. I personally didn’t feel like he gave his best. I felt that he was just walking through the film to get his paycheck at the end. Don’t get me wrong, he has his moments in the film, but none very memorable.
The movie is an all round good time and I highly recommend watching it as soon as possible if you have not done so (what are you waiting for? You’ve had 12 years). It’s a great starter movie for someone just starting to get into the genre and will definitely leave you thinking that there is only one true Iron man.
