Iron Man

In my attempt to rewatch all the MCU-movies chronologically I began with the first Iron Man. To cut to the chase: it's still good. A couple of things astonished me, though:

First of all, a common mistake of the later Marvel-movies isn't made here. There is actually some sort of character development visible. Tony ends the movie as a totally different person. Of course, in an origin story it's easier to have your protagonist change but let's compare for a second: Is Ant-man really a changed man at the end of the movie? What about Star Lord? What about Thor? Black Widow? Hawkeye?

Then again, you have to give it to the director that he really made a well-paced, well-balanced movie. There is action, humour, drama, world establishing, all in great balance. The final fight isn't stretched too long and therefore doesn't get boring. You can't underestimate this in our age of 45 mins battles at the end of movies.

During my re-watch I also noticed how 'down to earth' this movie is if you compare it to some of the more recent MCU-entries. It just looks more real than them. It's set in a world that at least COULD be real which makes us care more for the characters and their actions. More explosions and obvious cgi-effects don't improve a movie. So the movie doesn't feel as bloated as some other superhero flicks.

Finally, Iron Man is still fun to watch and not just a vehicle to set up a franchise. If you've spent the last couple of years on the moon and haven't seen any of the MCU-movies, give this a try.

There was a big question mark looming over the theatrical adaptation of Marvel's Iron Man property. It was in the guise of director Jon Favreau. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the Favs, but when I heard he was helming a big budget comic book flick…let's just say I was a little worried. Once his cast was set and the fanboys started humming across the internet I started to ease into the decision with high anticipation. Thankfully, after finally seeing the finished product, I was not disappointed in the least. With a great mix of the professionalism and stakes seen in both Spider-Man and X-Men and the comic wit and sheer fun of Fantastic Four, Iron Man shows how a comic can be brought to the screen successfully without all the added drama and weight. We finally have a film with the essence of what makes these picture books so popular, the action and mythology along with a sense of adventure and humor. Favreau never bogs us down with overwrought emotions nor speaks down to us with gags and poorly written jokes. Instead he delivers on his promises and gives us a solid initiation into what could be a great trilogy or more.

Favreau seems to have had an idea to get an origin story out while not boring us with long drawn out backstory. His ability to give us dual information at once is nicely orchestrated, showing Tony Stark in his basement creating while the TV in the background explains what is happening in the outside world of the Middle East and inside his own company. We as an audience are allowed to put the pieces together amidst the witty banter of Stark and the wonderful special effects. By the end of the film it is quite amazing how much information you will realize you now know, all culminating in a decent final battle, but more importantly a segue into the inevitable sequel. We are allowed entrance into the character evolution of Stark as he goes from war profiteer to man of action and cause, all while seeing the technology improve and advance before our eyes. Much like Batman, we have a hero here that needs help in fighting crime. He has no superhuman abilities besides his brain and being able to see his thoughts go from paper to reality is a feat of magic. Every stage is shown, every failure and success. It's quite the ride in and of itself, but when you add onto it the threat of global war and destruction, it can only get better.

The real success here is in the bold move of casting an actor over-40 to be a superhero. This takes guts, because no matter how appropriate it is, most studios would have said, "no, change the story and make him younger so we can churn out as many of these babies as we can." I don't know how he did it, but Favreau got Marvel to get Robert Downey Jr. to play Stark, a sarcastic lothario with the brain capacity of Einstein. I truly can't think of anyone better suited to the role and he proves it by nailing every single scene. I'm sure there was some ad-libbing, but even if not, his comic delivery and ability to switch on a dime to a sincere seriousness at will shows his masterful craft.

As for the rest of the cast, they all do well. Jeff Bridges plays the bombastic creature of villainy over-the-top, but appropriately so; Terrence Howard is nice as the friend and military liason, not given much to do, but definitely sowing seeds for the future; and Gwyneth Paltrow is good as the sweet assistant Pepper Potts who at times seems a little underwritten and more female prop than anything else, but comes through with some nice moments in a very comic sort of way. I also really liked Shaun Toub as Yinsen, Stark's savior, and Clark Gregg as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Good to see Favreau giving another actor turned director props, (Gregg's directorial debut comes out later this year in the form of Chuck Palahniuk's Choke). I just wish he would have shied away from putting himself in the film. It's one thing to be seen split-second, (like Stan Lee), but its another to give yourself a thankless role with multiple scenes, just adding fuel to the fire on people's opinions of egotism stemming from the drinking game created off of the TV show "Dinner for Five" and how many references to Swingers was made each episode. I'll forgive, though, because, once again, I'm a big fan.

One can't forget that this is an action film above all else, so we can't just praise the actors; every effect is also quite brilliant. Those scenes of Iron Man flying amongst fighter jets in the trailer seemed really lame, but when in context they deliver. The suit itself is amazing as well, through every mach stage right to the end. My main highlight, however, was with the computer systems that Stark utilizes. The multiple screens, instant holographic reproductions, and ability to actually interact with those 3D representations is stunning. We can create them in fantasy, but it's just too bad we can't yet in real life.

Now Iron Man is not a perfect film, nor even a perfect comic book adaptation. What it is, though, is a fun, comic actioner that should light up the box office. The final showdown is a bit of a whimper in comparison to the backstory and machine creation; a crucial element is saved from destruction in the one contrived bit of screen writing, (not quite utilized in the way I thought, although still for the same means); and some moments seem a tad campy rather than witty, but otherwise this is some topnotch cinema that should definitely be seen on the big screen. I can't wait to see how the story progresses in a couple years.

With a B-list superhero, a risky lead actor, a genre that hasn't really done much other than say Nolan's Batman, this movie had a lot to prove. Wow, did it ever. It proved that superhero movies can be realistic, emotional, funny and have highly entertaining action. This is the movie to launch the MCU, and started the shared universe that DC comics and other franchises are following.

Let's start with the number one reason why this movie is so good: Robert Downey Jr. I am so glad that Jon Favreau kept pressing the studio to make sure RDJ had this role because he completely nails it. He effortlessly portrays the cool, sarcastic, alcoholic, playboy that I don't even think he's acting. He's clearly not perfect as he is the guy we think is awesome but don't necessarily want to be. This role is basically synonymous with RDJ now because you can't think of Tony Stark without immediately thinking of RDJ. Iron Man wasn't a househeld name before but thanks to RDJ's performance, it is now.

The action in this movie is incredible as you get to see him fly around, take on terrorist cells and fight the main villain. What I even found to more intriguing is Stark's entire time building his suit, both in the Afghan cave and in his garage because it is amazing to see his genius at work, while still being snarky and basically a tool.

The writing and humor is also very good in this movie. I read that a lot of the lines, especially RDJ's were improv, which is able to keep this movie very fresh, not Rotten Tomatoes style, but it helps a lot by breaking the molds of superhero movies.

A couple complaints in this film is the pacing and the final villain. The pacing starts off very well, not really rushing into him being Iron Man, establishing his character very well before his abilities. Then the final battle comes around and it's basically just an evil version of his character, which sort of works with the problem of his technology getting into wrong hands, but the fact that it's just fighting a mirror is kind of boring. The final battle comes around pretty quick and it resolved fairly quick as if they are trying to wrap it up really quickly. I did like Bridges' Obadiah Stane with his intimidating yet charming persona but in the end he was just a reverse of Iron Man, not that interesting.

+ Robert Downey Jr + Fresh, new start for superhero movies + Writing and pacing (mostly) + Action and Humor - Final Villain

Final Score: 9.3/10

Great movie, which serves as a perfect introduction to Tony Stark's character. The antagonist was a bit boring, but except for that, I loved the movie!

MCU 2021 Marathon

MCU #1:

Iron Man was my favorite Marvel hero. As a teen I collected 1-150 with the main series. I doodled the Iron Man helmet during class at high school when bored.

So it was a huge surprise when this came out in 2008 and it was so freaking GOOD! Jon Favreau, the guy that had done Elf and Zathura (the Zumanji sequel) had just started a cinematic revolution? What!?!? (And Favreau is doing it again with The Mandalorian).

Robert Downey Jr. was made for the part of Tony Stark. The origin story was modernized and handled well. They included most of the early Iron Man suits from the comics. They took the time showing the more modern invention of the suit and the challenges of making it work (e.g. maneuvering with the repulsors).

I finally understood what Spiderman's fans felt like when Sam Raimi's Spiderman series became a massive pop culture sensation years earlier. Fantastic!

There are issues. Pacing mostly. Jeff Bridges is too much the stereotypical villain with an over-the-top fight scene at the end.

This was the beginning of the MCU world building effort which was more "slight-of-hand" in the earlier movies -- Stark's OCD making itself evident, that Shield guy at the party, and Samuel Jackson pinging Stark about Avengers in the end credits.

It began and ended with Iron Man. That makes me happy.

"I am Iron Man"