Iron Man (2008) Review

"I am Iron Man"
-Tony Stark



Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a billionaire, genius, playboy, and the head of a weapons manufacturer.  While showcasing his latest creation in Afghanistan, Tony is captured by a group of terrorists who want him to build them a weapon.  Tony attempts to escape by building a suit of armor with a wide variety of weapons and the ability to fly, but even if he does make it home, someone close to Tony doesn't want him back.


What Works:

By far the best part of this movie is Robert Downey Jr.  He is absolutely brilliant as Tony Stark.  This was the role he was born to play.  I literally can't imagine anyone else playing this role.  Tony has a really great character arc as he transforms from a playboy to someone who actually wants to do some good in the world, but he doesn't lose his charisma or his cockiness along the way.  It's a great performance and really carries the film.

I am a big fan of Jeff Bridges and (for the the most part) I really like his performance.  He is so obviously the bad guy and yet there are plenty of scenes where he seems like a really kind man, which forces you to second guess if he is actually the villain.  His performance loses itself a bit in the 3rd act, but he's still one of the better Marvel villains.

I love the early parts of this film about Tony's time in captivity.  It's really fun to see what Tony can do without all of his state-of-the-art technology.  Watching him build the first Iron Man suit in a cave is really great and his escape sequence is still exciting to this day.

I love the character of Yinsen (Shaun Toub) and I maintain he's the best non-superhero character in the MCU.  Toub gives a great performance with a lot of heart.  He's a great foil for Tony and I only wish we got more of him.

Finally, I appreciate the grittier parts of the film, which is something the MCU has gotten away from. When Tony returns to Afghanistan to hunt down terrorists, we get a few moments of brutality from him that I don't think we ever see again.  Watching him straight up kill a group of terrorists using women and children as hostages was something I had forgotten about, but I really enjoyed.  I wish the MCU would still do moments like this to keep the films a bit more grounded.


What Sucks:

My only real problem with Iron Man comes in the climatic battle between Tony and Obadiah (Jeff Bridges).  Obadiah has a bunch of one-liners that he spits out during the battle which doesn't really match what we had previously seen of the character and doesn't work tonally with the rest of the film.  It's not a huge deal, but it's a bit jarring and feels like something out of a different movie.


Verdict:

Iron Man still holds up all these years later and is a fantastic start to the MCU.  The performances are great, especially from Downey Jr. and Toub, the action is solid, and the film has a grittiness that is never really replicated in the MCU.  The 3rd act is the weakest part, but still pretty fun.  Without a doubt, this movie has got it going on.


 9/10: Great 

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