Iron Man - Movie Review

 Iron Man (2008)

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I'm doing something special here, in honor of Black Widow (hopefully) coming out in July, I'll be reviewing the MCU films (or try to at least) leading up to it! This is going to be great because this franchise is something special to me! I've been watching these films since day one! I was 8 years old when Iron Man came out and when I saw this in theaters with my dad when it came out, I loved it then and I still love it now! Iron Man was released in 2008 and was the film that started the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was directed by Jon Favreau and starts Robert Downey Jr. as the titular character Tony Stark/Iron Man, which is definitely his most iconic role.

THE GOOD

Iron Man in my opinion still ranks as one of the best films in the entire franchise! This film is action packed, funny, has an amazing, compelling story and features one hell of a performance from Robert Downey Jr. The film is extremely well paced, there's never a dull moment at any time. The story is extremely compelling, I loved every character, and the story is so compelling because of the complete character growth of Tony Stark throughout the movie! I loved how Tony Stark doesn't start out as a superhero at all, he's completely carefree, all he cares about is money and pussy and shit like that. Once he gets held captive by middle eastern terrorists, that's when he really starts growing as a character, and I loved the entire process of him becoming Iron Man! Part of why the story is so compelling is because the writing is so strong! The dialogue is so good! The action sequences are fucking badass! The cave breakout sequence, when he goes back to the middle east to take out some bad guys, and the climax, everything is so white knuckled and exciting! Robert Downey Jr.'s performance as Tony Stark is nothing short of legendary, he's witty, charismatic, and his comedic timing is perfect! I loved the use of comedy in this film, it's funny without compromising the serious moments in the film.

THE BAD

My only real issue is that even though I actually really liked the villain played by Jeff Bridges, I didn't care for the fact that he basically becomes just evil version of Iron Man for the climax. It's probably just me but I just find that to be the last interesting way to have a final showdown in a movie.

CONCLUSION

As I said, Iron Man is still one of the best films in the MCU and still remains my favorite pre-Avengers MCU film. The film is packed with fun action, the acting is strong, the writing is very well done, and the film is funny and compelling!

GRADE:  A

FILM INFO

MPA rating:  PG-13 (for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content)

Run time:  126 min

Release date:  May 2nd, 2008

Studio:  Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios