Iron Man — Movie Review (2008 film)

It’s always interesting to see our favorite superheroes with advanced special effects and well developed CGI (computer generated imagery). Some of these superhero movies were excellent (Spider-man 2 and Dark Knight) while some are disappointing (Fantastic Four and Hulk). But imagine a superhero who loves technology, money, and fighting crime all at the same time. You guessed it, its Iron Man.

Plot

Tony Stark (Downey) is a multi-millionaire, genius, weapons creator, and a playboy. He flies to Afghanistan for a demo of Stark Industry’s latest weapon called “Jericho.” Terrorists attack Stark’s military convoy. He woke up inside a cave with an electromagnet embedded in his chest surgically placed by fellow captive Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub) to save his life. The terrorist leader Raza (Faran Tahir) ordered Stark to create a “Jericho” for terrorists. Instead, Stark created an armor suit (reminiscent of Robocop but much cooler) for his escape. After escaping, Stark is now back in America this time creating a much more advanced version of the armor suit. With the Iron Man he created, he starts fighting crime and terrorism. Unfortunately, Stark Industry’s second-in-command Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) orders the creation of his own version of the armor suit and will do everything to kill Tony Stark.

Almost a Classic

Iron Man is a great movie but it could have been a classic. They could have improved the action scenes and the villains were weak. They did’nt give Iron Man a good enough fight to keep us in the edges of our seats. On the bright side.

What I Love About Iron Man

I love the cool ego-centered personality of Tony Stark. He also has a unique motivation for fighting crime. Let’s have a little comparison. Peter Parker considers Spiderman a gift, a curse, and a destiny. Superman is an alien from Krypton; he knows he is stronger than everybody on earth and he needs to protect them. Bruce Wayne is a rich kid who has a fear of bats. Motivated by fear and his parent’s murder, he created Batman as Gotham City’s Dark Knight.

These 3 superheroes have a modern day knight in shining armour element in them. They are valiant and humble and they feel the need to save the world. Tony Stark is not your model citizen; he has the personality you love to love and you love to hate. He is vain, he enjoys his money, and wants to look good with it. He loves technology. Iron Man is Stark’s toy that allows him to both fight crime and showcase his genius to the world. Just like Stark, the Iron Man suit is a brilliant weapon that looks good at the same time; It is a projection of his personality. Imagine if Donald Trump had super powers, this is how it looks like. Tony Stark’s back story almost fits the profile of a villain which makes him more interesting.

Who’s The Real Iron Man?

Robert Downey Jr. is the one reason that made this movie great. He is a great actor and fits the Tony Stark role perfectly. Downey has a powerful on-screen personality that dominates most of the scenes in the movie. His witty jokes and clever remarks all throughout the film kept us entertained and interested. It is as if they really did not need more action sequences since Downey’s charisma was enough to satisfy viewers. Robert Downey had been through a lot in his life. He has been a Saturday Night Live cast, suffered substance abuse, and got back to the box office reign. He is Hollywood’s real Iron Man.

Tony Stark and Pepper Potts

I also like the love story between Stark and his personal secretary Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Downey brings a strong personality to Stark’s character and his female lead should keep up with that personality. Gwyneth Paltrow did a great job. She proved that only an A-list celebrity can portray Pepper Potts. Gwyneth matched Downey’s wits and clever timing while still portraying the role of a secretary. It gave a romantic comedy element to the film once again adding more entertainment value.

G-Jays Verdict.

Iron Man is one of those movies where Robert Downey Jr. is on top of his game. The special effects are spectacular particularly the scenes when Stark is using the hologram to engineer the armor suit. Iron Man is a good movie and arguably one of the best superhero movies of all time. Highly recommended, Watch it!

Jays Ratings — 85%

Rotten Tomatoes — 93%

IMDB — 7.9 out of 10

Metacritic — 79

Financials — $140M budget with $585.2M box office

Jays Geronca is a dancer, film and tv critic, podcaster, and fiction writer. You can follow him at:

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