Iron Man

            Taking a trip down memory lane, I decided to dive back into the MCU, and it all started with one of the best comic book films made, Iron Man. Let us just start by stating the obvious, Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect choice to play Tony Stark. Much like Hugh Jackman with Wolverine, there will never be another actor to play the character the way he does, and I doubt anyone will ever try. And to think, it was almost Tom Cruise who was going to play Tony Stark. Do not get me wrong, I love Tom Cruise, but he would not have done as great of a job as RDJ did. This film and this character were the perfect options to launch the MCU, but not for the reasons that you would think. While among comic book fans, Iron Man is a great character and one of the clear leaders of The Avengers, he was not that popular of a character at the time. So, why would a character who was not popular be the right choice to launch a multi-billion-dollar franchise? I take your attention back to the charismatic RDJ. The trio of him, Kevin Feige, and director/actor Jon Favreau are the most responsible with launching this universe.

            I will not go much into what this film is about because it is about what almost every first comic book film is about, a superhero’s origin story. I would much rather talk about what this film does well, and that is develop a story well over a great pace, and features some great action, terrific performances, wonderful cinematography, and is directed well by Favreau, who also does a fantastic job as Happy Hogan. One element about this film that I appreciate when compared to later MCU films is just how dark it is in tone at times. While this film is aimed mainly at kids and teens, they show the brutality of terrorism and war about as much as they can within the guidelines of the film’s ratings. It adds depth and emotion to the film because it ups the ante and provides proper motivation for why Tony Stark ends up becoming Iron Man. The film starts off with him as a selfish playboy and by the end of it he has undergone a metamorphosis and it makes sense.

            The film is not perfect, though. Given that it was 2008 at the time, and the difficulty of creating a superhero like Iron Man, some of the effects when the suit is being armed do not hold up as well, but for the most part the effects are good. The other issue I have, and this is the main issue, is that the main villain is just weak. Yes, the actor gives a good performance, but he has no depth. They hardly go into the reasons for why he chooses the path that he chooses and the reason they do give is simply generic to most villains. A hero is only as good as its villain and in this case, it is just a showcase for Iron Man with nothing more going on.

            Minor nitpicks aside, this is a fantastic film. Feige and Favreau do an amazing job of laying down the foundation for what would become the MCU, and they chose a bonafide superstar to lead the franchise with Robert Downey Jr. This is still a top five film within the MCU while also being one of the best comic book films ever made. It was certainly a game changer and deserves every accolade that it is given. Official Rating: 5 Stars.

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