Review written by Christian Garcia
Only appropriate to start off this revisit with the film that started it all: Iron Man.
I was first exposed to Iron Man through the Marvel Legends action figures. The figures came with a copy of the hero’s origin comic book. My first time seeing him in action was in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. I thought the suit looked cool and it was cool seeing him in action but besides that I did not know too much about Iron Man.
Side note: Both Spider-Man: The Animated Series and the Marvel Legends toy line were how I was exposed to most of the Marvel heroes as kid.
When Iron Man was first announced, I thought it was cool he was getting his own movie but also didn’t have high hopes. At the time, superhero movies were not the big box office draw that they are today. There were the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films of course. However, for one Spider-Man film there was a flop like Daredevil or Electra. So, it was a welcome surprise for fans when Iron Man turned out to be a big hit both at the box office and amongst critics.
I didn’t see it in theaters when it came, and I didn’t end up seeing it until many years later after Avengers was already out. The first Iron Man movie I saw was Iron Man 3 (more on that later). This movie has a lot of hype behind with many fans to this day praising it as one of the best of the MCU films. Does it live up to all that praise? Let’s take a look.
And beforehand, for the people who have not seen any of these Marvel films, yes, they do exist, I will also add a huge SPOILER WARNING! You have been warned!!
The Hero:
Tony Stark is a hot shot billionaire with a great IQ but an even bigger ego.
In the beginning of the film, Tony is arrogant and careless. He enjoys the fruits of his labor and spends his time partying without a care in the world.
The film does a great job explaining his back story through an introduction video played before a major Stark event. It tells you exactly what you need to know and doesn’t feel like pointless exposition. The manner it is done in is very clever as Stark’s ego is big enough that you would believe he would have such a video played at an event despite the world already knowing who he is. It is a great introduction to a character for common movie-goers who might not have read the comics. When I showed my girlfriend, she had asked me who Tony Stark was and I told her to watch this scene and afterwards she had all her questions answered.
Although he is very arrogant, he still comes across as charming and funny. At times he can be very egotistical, he tops it off with a funny one-liner that keeps us coming back to him. A big part of this comes from the performance of Robert Downey Jr. (more on that later.)
But there is more to Tony Stark than just charm and ego. He lost his parents at a young age and without that guidance, he begins the film as still very immature. He believes strongly in his father's vision and does believe that what he is doing is for the greater good. It is not until he sees that the 10 Rings have been using Stark Industries tech for terrorism that his eyes are opened to the harsh reality. He is driven by his desire to protect people and changes his attitude by the end of the film to show a more mature and focused man working towards the greater good. It is the growth of Tony Stark throughout later films and the charm of RDJ's performance that make Tony Stark, in my opinion, the best of the Marvel Cinematic characters and a great character to kick of the franchise with.
The Hero’s Journey:
Tony Stark begins the film as a hotshot billionaire playboy with an IQ as big as his ego. He believes strongly in his father’s vision of Stark Industries of building weapons to protect people. He believes that what his company does protects people.
His life and journey changes after he is kidnapped and held hostage by a group known as the 10 Rings. During his captivity, he befriends a fellow captive named Yinsen. They create an Iron Man suit to help them escape.
Their time together although brief has a profound effect on Tony. While talking, Yinsen describes Tony as “A man who has everything and nothing.” This as well as Yinsen’s parting words to “Not waste his life” change Tony and his journey takes on a new path.
When Tony returns home, he has new lease on life. After seeing that his company’s weapons were used for war and terror, he decides that Stark Industries will no longer manufacture weapons which puts him in conflict with his partner, Obadiah Stane. He also decides to create Iron Man, to use his technology for peace rather than war.
By the end of the film, Tony goes from an arrogant playboy to a mature and compassionate hero whose purpose is to use his knowledge and technology to help people. He evolves from his father's vision for Stark Industries and continues his legacy rather than ruin it as Stane believes he would. At the end of his journey, Tony is changed for the betterment of himself, the people around him, and the world.
The Villain
Obadiah Stane is Tony's father's old partner and the manager of Stark Industries. Stane ran the company after Howard Stark's death until Tony was of age. This is also explained in the aforementioned video introduction for Tony. Right away it is established why there would be tension between Stane and Tony. Stane had been loyal and run Stark Industries in accordance with Howard's vision and then he had to hand over control to Tony. That tension is escalated when Tony returns from his captivity and wants to shut down the weapons manufacturing division at Stark, something Stane does not want to happen as he and the company are profiting from it and he believes that Tony's new vision would ruin the company and Howard's legacy.
He is portrayed by Jeff Bridges who is at times unrecognizable in the role. Bridges put in a very good performance as a calculated and ruthless businessman. His obsession with seizing control of Stark Industries and getting his hands on Tony's arch reactor drive him to become more diabolical by the end of the film.
While my girlfriend and I watched, her disdain for him grew. Right before the climax, at what I thought was his most evil moment, my girlfriend reacted with great shock and anger at him, and I could tell she had really become invested in the film's story. I believe when you get a reaction like that from the audience, you are doing something right.
Is Stane one of the best comic villains ever? No. Would I consider him in the top tier of MCU villains? No.
He is the typical ruthless businessman-type villain. Greedy and power hungry. Nothing we haven't already seen before and since. For the role that he plays as an obstacle in Tony's journey, I do believe he is still a solid antagonist. But while he is a solid antagonist, that does not make him the most interesting of superhero villains.
The Film's Pros
Iron Man himself
Easily the biggest pro of this movie and every Iron Man film is Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr is Tony Stark. They are one in the same and that is what makes this character so great. Downey perfectly encapsulates the charm, the cockiness, and the emotional complexities that make Tony Stark the compelling character that he is. He can be a cocky jerk but also be very funny and charming. He can be an intelligent tech wiz and other times be drunk playboy. I am sure that Downey was able to apply the trials and tribulations from his own life into Tony's growth and his performance comes across as that of a man who has seen faced the toughest of demons and conquered them and came out better on the other side.
People should remember that Iron Man was the launch of Downey's comeback in film. Iron Man is not only about the redemption of Tony Stark but of Robert Downey Jr. Downey has always been renowned for his acting ability, but his personal demons troubled him for much of his life and at the time Hollywood was not as trustful of him. Director Jon Favreau even faced opposition from Marvel when trying to cast Downey for the role because of his troubled past. But Favreau was adamant as he was quoted saying, "The best and worst moments of Robert's life have been in the public eye. He had to find an inner balance to overcome obstacles that went far beyond his career. That's Tony Stark." It was this performance that reminded the world of the great talent that he is and that why he was the best choice to guide these films along.
Looking to the Future
What has now become a standard that Marvel, and even non-Marvel films have followed, the post-Credit scene. The movie had made illusions to S.H.I.E.L.D. throughout but after the credits Tony Stark comes home to find Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) and Fury mentions the Avenger Initiative. This gave Marvel fans the first teaser for the Avengers finally coming to film.
Iron Man was not the first film to do a post credit teaser. It had been done numerous times in other films before. Even other superhero movies had done it before like Daredevil and X-Men. However, before Iron Man it was almost considered comical to have such a thing as movies like the Super Mario Brothers Movie had teasers for sequels that never saw the light of day. So, I'm sure audiences had a wait-and-see reaction to this teaser. Of course, they wanted to see the Avengers but after having so many sequel teasers that never paid off, they had a reason to be cautiously optimistic. This teaser is more important years later than it was at the time as it set in motion that Iron Man was only one part of a much bigger universe that was yet to come. It set in motion what has now become a traditional part of the Marvel viewing experience.
Supporting Cast
No hero can do everything on their own. Even a hero with as big of an ego as Tony Stark needs a helping hand now and then and behind the great Iron Man is a wonderful supporting cast.
I mentioned Yensen before as a great character whose impact on Tony greatly affects his journey. Another great character is Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. She is first introduced as his assistant, but we soon learn that there is more to their relationship than meets the eye. She serves as Tony’s conscious at times and the one to try and bring him back to earth when he gets in over his head. There are some touching scenes between them including when she helps him replace his arc reactor and a moment they have (or almost have) at the charity event. Their chemistry is great, and you feel the connection that they have. Tony respects her and knows that of all the people he encounters that she’s the one he can trust the most and sees her as more than an assistant. Pepper does a great job of not fully letting the audience know what’s in her head. We know that she does care for Tony but she’s not too quick to let us know to what extent. The real touching moment is when she gifts him the old arch reactor in a glass case that read “Proof that Tony Stark has a heart.” It is a touching moment that also plays an important part in the climax later. What’s also great about Pepper is that she’s not the typical female lead in superhero movies where she’s only the damsel in distress. For the most part, Pepper does a pretty good job keeping out of harm’s way aside from the climax and even then, it was not like she needed Tony to fly in and save her and in a way her actions at one point save him. Pepper is a welcome addition to the MCU and her role in Tony’s life only grows as the films go on.
Another great supporting role is Colonel Rhodes aka Rhodey played by Terrence Howard. Before I go deeper, let’s address the elephant in the room, in later films Howard is replaced by Don Cheadle. Having watched Iron Man after having seen Avengers and Iron Man 3, I am more accustomed and do prefer Don Cheadle’s performance and believe he does fit the role better with his great acting and comedic timing. However, upon re-watching the first Iron Man, I do think that Terrence Howard put in a good performance and believe he would have been a welcome addition in later films. I thought he acted as more of the mature friend to contrast Tony’s reckless lifestyle although he could easily be swayed. I did feel their connection as friends and thought that Rhodes was a good support system for Tony. I do think that Downey and Cheadle have better chemistry as friends, but I thought that Rhodey was given a good introduction into the MCU. Other recurring characters like Happy Hogan and JARVIS also did well in their respective roles with JARVIS as the guiding voice for Tony’s experiments. Happy, played by director Jon Favreau, for the most part takes a back seat as Tony’s driver although we see some of him and Tony’s chemistry and thankfully, we get to see more of Happy in later films.
The Film's Cons
While I still believe Iron Man to be a great film, it is not a perfect film. However, even the weakest part of this film is not that bad but something that could have been better.
I already mentioned in my analysis of the villain that while Obadiah Stane was a solid antagonist, he was not the most interesting of super villains. At the end of the day, this is a superhero movie and the coolest thing about superheroes is seeing the villains they must battle and overcome. With Spider-Man, we got awesome villains like Green Goblin and Doc Ock. In X-Men, we got Magneto. Villains that had over-the-top looks and personalities that made us interested in them and disliked them and even sometimes feared them. Obadiah Stane and Iron Monger are sadly not one of those villains. They came across to me as a standard run-of-the-mill villain and did not leave much of an impact on me at all. Because of that, I was not as invested in the final battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger as I would have been for say Spider-Man vs Doc Ock. Which leads me to another, and I believe bigger issue...
The biggest con of this film for me was the Third Act as a whole. The film's first two acts were done so well with Tony's backstory and captivity in Act 1 and then him becoming Iron Man in Act 2. With two very interesting acts built up, Act 3 felt a little underwhelming in comparison. Act 2 ends with a great escalation as Stane steals Tony's arch reactor to create his own suit. They built up Iron Monger as this big threat but when we finally see it, it is nothing more than just a bigger version of the Iron Man suit. It doesn't seem as threatening or like an enhancement to what Tony did and because of that the stakes don't feel as high. What if he had been equipped with technology that Tony was not aware of which would force Tony to think of a creative solution to beat him? I believe that in the climax of any film, it is important to see the protagonist use what they have learned on their journey to conquer the obstacle and win the day. I don't believe we really saw that in this climax, and it didn't feel like a moment that brought Tony's journey full circle.
As the viewer, of course we want Tony to overcome this enemy but given that so many other superhero movies had come and gone before this one, the climax was nothing that I had not seen before and fell flat as a result.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Iron Man is a great film that still holds up today. It was a great film to kickstart the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While I do believe that the issues that I have with the film are serious issues, they don't hinder my enjoyment of the film. I believe that most comic book fans watch these movies to see their favorite heroes on the screen. I know that I do. The best thing about Iron Man is Iron Man himself and they get plenty of him. Robert Downey Jr.'s performance carried through a great hero and a great product that got Marvel fans excited for what was next. My girlfriend came out of this film really liking it and looking forward to seeing more Marvel titles. It set off the events that would take the Marvel Universe to places we could not even imagine. If you have yet to see any of the Marvel films or have seen a handful and want to know where things got started, Iron Man is a great place to start. It is a fun film that will draw you and keep you coming back for more.
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