Iron Man (2008) - Film Review

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard & Jeff Bridges

Screenplay: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum & Matt Holloway

Directed By: Jon Favreau

Certificate: 12

 

Marvel Cinematic Universe. Three words that should cause every other film studio in their right mind to quake in their boots. Marvel have created one of the most successful film franchises have all time, and certainly one of the most interlinked and complex ones. It all begins here with Iron Man, but is the film that kickstarted the MCU one to be looked on and treasured, or is it perhaps a poor start for such an iconic franchise?

 

Iron Man follows billionaire businessman and weapons dealer, Tony Stark. When giving a demonstration of his latest weapons in the Middle East, Tony comes under attack from the Ten Rings organisation, a terrorist group. Hit and badly wounded in the chest by a piece of shrapnel, Tony ends up a hostage. With the shrapnel getting closer and closer to his heart, and being forced to make more weapons for the terrorist group, Tony, and his fellow captive Yinsen, have to find a way to save his life and escape the Ten Rings in order to return to America.

 

Iron Man starts with a great, and quite busy first act. There's a lot going on throughout the film, but in the first act alone, we're introduced to Tony Stark, see him captured by a terrorist organisation, and see his attempts to escape with fellow prisoner Yinsen. While Shaun Toub may only appear in the opening of the film, he and Robert Downey Jr. work really well together, and you get a real sense of comradery from their two characters. (Spoiler Warning!) It's this that makes Yinsen's death a genuinely upsetting moment, and one that I'll admit I didn't see coming. In every scene of Tony and Yinsen working in the cave, it feels uncomfortable, and with gunmen watching the two through the cameras, there's always a sense of fear that their true works on the crude Iron Man suit will be discovered.

 

The thing that sets Iron Man apart from most other superhero stories, is its unique take on Iron Man's origins. Unlike other superheroes like Superman, Tony Stark isn't any kind of “chosen one” or born with supernatural powers. Instead, our superhero is a billionaire businessman who spends a large part of the film just looking to do the right thing, and rather than keep on distributing weapons, he chooses to help those who need help, with the aid of the Iron Man suit. Iron Man's origin story is also quite the unique one, born out of current events in the world, as the only reason Tony builds the first Iron Man suit is to escape a terrorist organisation. But as brilliant as the suit may be, it's nothing without the man inside it. Whether he's in or out of the suit, Robert Downey Jr. is terrific as Tony Stark – he's perfect casting and utterly nails the character. With all the wise-cracking and cockiness surrounding Tony, there are other actors who might have ended up making the character grating and unlikeable to watch. But Robert Downey Jr. knows just when to reel Tony in, knowing his limits, while also bringing so much wit and fun to the role, not to mention plenty of regular laughs.

 

As a character, Tony is perhaps one of the most relatable superheroes seen on the big screen. He may be a successful businessman swimming in money, with fast cars and a massive house right by the sea, but he also has plenty of flaws. He is by no means perfect, especially when compared to many other superheroes, but rather than taking anything away from him, it helps to reduce any sense of alienation that may have otherwise existed between him and the audience. Of course, as great as it is to get to know the man inside the suit, the suit itself is just as entertaining and stunning to watch. A large part of the film is dedicated to showing the development of the Iron Man suit, and its really fun to watch. Whether it be Tony taking the suit on its first proper flight, or testing out its weaponry – it all leads to the Iron Man suit that we're familiar with, returning to the Middle East to fight the Ten Rings Organisation, in a brief but impressive action sequence. Speaking of the suit, its important to highlight just how brilliant and high the production values are in Iron Man. Everything here looks amazing, with some very convincing and realistic CGI work. All the machinery in Tony's lab looks really intricate and detailed, but the highlight is definitely the Iron Man suit itself. It feels as those it has real heft, its sound effects match the suit's movements perfectly, and in pretty much every shot, it just looks wonderful.

 

The film is bolstered even further by a surprisingly well-rounded supporting cast. The best supporting character here is easily Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. I would personally argue that Pepper is one of the best love interests seen in a comic book film, and this is partly down to how the scriptwriters handled the love story between her and Tony. There's no subplot to be found that sees Tony trying to win her affections, and by the end of the film, they're not even a proper couple. Iron Man takes its time with the two characters' relationship, leaving it to be picked up and built upon in future instalments, and this allows more time for the audience to get to know the two characters. Pepper is played incredibly well by Gwyneth Paltrow, and she really sells the professional and organised side of the character, with her job as Tony's PA. There's also glimpses of self-confidence in there as well, particularly when she has to escort the journalist Christine out of Tony's house towards the start of the film. We also have Terrance Howard as Lt. Colonel James Rhodes or “Rhodey”. Rhodey is the closest Tony gets to having a best friend, and this comes across well thanks to the great relationship that the two share on-screen. While Rhodey is definitely the straight man of the two, and often gets annoyed at Tony's antics, you can still tell throughout that he genuinely cares for him.

 

Lastly, we have Jeff Bridges as Obadiah. Now Obadiah is hardly going to go down in cinema history as one of the best villains ever, but I'd personally argue that he suits the style of Iron Man well. The same cannot be said for the Ten Rings Organisation. Their leader gets minimal screen time, and as a result, both he and the rest of the organisation are very forgettable. When it comes down to it, all they end up doing is serving as a plot device and allowing Tony to get the idea for the Iron Man suit. But like I've said, Obadiah is a much better villain, with far more character development. Early on in the film, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Obadiah genuinely cares about Tony and Stark Industries, but on re-watches, his own personal agenda is clearly visible. (Spoiler Warning!) While Obadiah may be a solid villain, the final confrontation between him and Tony felt somewhat underwhelming. Their battle with each other, with both in their own robotic suits, is one-sided as Tony has to rely on an old arc-reactor and the suit isn't on full power. While you could argue that this helps to increase the sense of tension, I find myself more disappointed, as while the scenes are tense, we're robbed of the chance to watch two full-powered suits clash with each other.

 

However, those are my only criticisms with Iron Man, and they do little to outweigh everything else that's great here. Iron Man is an entertaining, fun and explosive time at the cinema. Helped in no small way by Robert Downey Jr.'s stellar performance, rich and witty dialogue, a strong supporting cast and very high production values, this film proves that the MCU were serving up quality right from the off-set. 

Iron Man



9/10