Iron Man Movie Review (2008)

9/10

Iron Man tells the story of billionaire inventor and weapons manufacturer Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a suave playboy with a devil-may-care attitude who is taken hostage in the Middle East by a terrorist faction known as ‘Ten Rings’ following a demonstration of his newest and deadliest invention, the Jericho Missile. He is badly wounded during the assault, and his fellow captive, Yinsen, rigs a device to his chest to keep shrapnel from piercing his heart and killing him. Held in a remote cave in the mountains, he is forced by the terrorist leader Raza to build another Jericho Missile using hardware obtained from his own company, Stark Industries, but together with Yinsen, with whom Tony has formed a friendship, he instead builds a revolutionary suit of armor, equipped with live ammunition, flamethrowers and limited flight capability. He uses this suit to escape his captors, though Yinsen sacrifices himself in order for Tony to escape and destroy the stockpile of weapons the terrorists have accumulated.

Back in America, Tony dedicates his time and resources to perfecting and streamlining the suit, and eventually builds the familiar red and gold MK3 armor and becomes Iron Man. With the help of his faithful assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and loyal friend James Rhodes (Terence Howard), Tony embarks on a mission to destroy the very weapons he created, culminating in an epic battle with his one time mentor, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), who reverse engineers Tony’s designs to create the hulking Iron Monger suit.

Directed by Actor-Director Jon Favreu, Iron Man is brought to life with amazing special effects, a remarkably faithful story that closely follows the comic book continuity and outstanding performances by the lead cast. The film is a comic book fans dream come true, with subtle in-jokes and references to the wider Marvel Universe littered throughout (Look for a hint of Captain America’s shield in Tony’s workshop and stay after the credits for an appearance by Samuel L. Jackson as none other than Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D, recruiting for the ‘Avenger Initiative’). Also, you wont find any angst ridden Batman or Spider-Man type characterizations here. The film doesn’t take itself too seriously, but that’s not to say that it’s cartoony in any way. The filmmakers and cast do their best to ground the story in reality, while still embracing the fantastical parts of the subject matter, and therefore strike an ideal balance between character development and all out comic book action without becoming preachy or convoluted (I’m looking at you, Spider-Man). This is an ideal summer blockbuster that delivers on all counts, keeping the audience entertained from start to finish.

Marvel Studios has already given the greenlight for a sequel due out in 2010, and I cant wait to see where they go with the story (hopefully, we’ll get to see Iron Man and James Rhode’s War Machine go up against The Mandarin). Iron Man is Marvel’s first foray into producing films based on their stable of characters, and if this film is any indication, fans and newcomers alike can look forward to a slew of high quality, faithful adaptations of said characters, with reboots of The Incredible Hulk due out in June and The Punisher set to hit theatres later in the year.

Iron Man 2, the sequel to Iron Man, was released in 2010. The film featured the appearance of Iron Man's sidekick, War Machine (played by Don Cheadle) and the villain Whiplash (played by Mickey Rourke).

The movie also alludes to the coming of Thor, another Marvel superhero, as well as the formation of The Avengers.