Iron Man (2008) Review

            In 2008 Marvel Studios released its first feature film Starring Robert Downey Jr. Although few would remember this now, all bets were pretty much against the first Iron Man film. Robert Downey Jr. was considered a declining actor, the movie itself began shooting with half a script, and no one thought a comic book company could successfully produce its own movies, the list goes on.

            Sure enough, opening day hit, and the film not only lived up to its hype, but it helped revive the career of its lead actor as well as begin what we now know as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man was the first of many achievements to come for Marvel Studios, it began the modern era of super hero films, and it gave fans hope for the future of the genre.

            Iron Man tells the story of billionaire inventor and personality Tony Stark, whom after suffering an attack in the Middle East, discovers his purpose in life as a defender of right. (Corny? Sue me, it’s true!) As a character, Tony was a bit of a jerk, a man who knew exactly who he was, a brilliant mind with access to a ton of money, and he spends most of his time being the playboy we all have come to love. Little known fact, RDJ actually improvised most of his lines as Tony Stark in the film, a result of there being not much of a script to work with. That’s how Tony’s distinct personality was created, and it’s why some people can never tell if RDJ is playing a character or just being himself when in interviews. Sometimes it can be fun, sometimes you just want the guy to knock it off, and the same can be said for Stark’s attitude, and I think that’s fantastic, he feels fleshed out because of this.

            Although sold as a beat-em-up superhero adventure, Iron Man is really a very wordy flick. I’ve read some of the comic books, and believe you me, this movie captures the spirit of the Iron Man comic books one to one. And although the film had less Iron Man than most people were expecting, never at any point does the film feel boring. Every development Tony goes through in his evolution as Iron Man feels organic and not at all contrived. He learns how to fly, how man uses a repulse ray can have, etc. And we are there with him every step of the way as he makes all of these various discoveries.

            Before anyone reading this claims in their mind or out loud, that there was no real challenge for Iron Man and that summer was going to belong to Marvel anyway, consider this. The summer of 2008 also saw the release of The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan. An established franchise that also consisted of a billionaire super hero with a secret lair and a butler. What was there to make audiences think that Marvel just wanted to copy the famous Batman franchise with the copy character that had been competing with each other for years on the printed page? The answer is nothing. Marvel took a gamble in more ways than one that summer, and now, eight years later, it’s continued to pay off.