The Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU for short, has become one of the biggest franchises in cinema history and almost all their movies have their fans both new to Marvel and long-time comic book junkies. What started out with one single movie turned into a much bigger universe than anyone could ever expect. The movie that started everything though was a single superhero movie called Iron Man, which was directed by Jon Favreau and staring now mega-star celebrity Robert Downey Jr.
In the deserts of Iraq, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is a self-absorbed billionaire tech genius who is about to show off his latest in weapon technology. Unfortunately afterward, he gets caught in the middle of a feud by terrorists. Tony tries to escape but is captured and wakes up to find out that he has a literal change of heart. Tony begins to discover how his company’s weaponry has been put in the wrong hands and how it is destroying the lives of many. With the help of a man named Yinsen, Tony manages to escape by creating a new arc reactor for his heart and an Iron suit to flee the terrorist prison. Once back home, Tony decides to cancel the operations of Stark Industries weapon production much to everyone’s dismay. This especially becomes a huge shock for Tony’s chairman Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) who refuses to let the company try anything other than weapon manufacturing. Meanwhile, Tony starts to make major upgrades to his previous iron suit and becomes Iron Man as he tries to undo the wrongdoings of his company while saving the lives of many. However, Obadiah has other plans as he tries to take control of Stark Industries out of Tony’s hands.
What makes this film work so well is that it’s great at giving a good amount of story and character development while at the same time having fun with the premise as much as possible because after all, it is a comic book movie. Jon Favreau’s direction turns this regular superhero origin story into a quickly paced action-adventure that has some great humor from our main star, outstanding action sequences that still hold up, and well-done character development that is subtle in its execution but effective in its overall presentation. One of the most impressive things about Iron Man is how they turned Robert Downey Jr from a little-known actor into a megastar. Tony Stark’s character is both funny and complex as he still maintains his self-absorbed tech genius side while also providing the character a subtle amount of development that isn’t obvious off the bat but is readable as you know how he feels about the situation he’s gotten himself into. If I did have to nitpick at one thing, I would say that the other character while each of them definitely needed for the story, I just didn’t quite think they left a huge impression unlike the main star of the show but that is in no way saying they are bad, cause that’s far from the truth.
It’s amazing because this movie came out all the way back in 2008 and the CGI effects still hold up to this very day. Obviously, the look of the Iron Man suits would keep getting better with every passing year, but man does the visual of the first appearance of the Iron man suit still give me the feels of satisfaction even years later. the way they execute the suit and its powers is great and we get a perfect amount of time to see tony the iron man suit and its abilities. Speaking of action, it’s quite remarkable as it is quickly paced and used in many creative ways especially when it comes to seeing the iron man suit in action. Sometimes it can be hard to spot what is CGI and what is practical as both effects blend together simultaneously to create a grand illusion. The unique visual of showing a close-up of tony’s face while inside the suit is one of the most recognizable moments in MCU history and seeing tony using his powers for the first time is sure to give you a rush of feelings. The Music is done by german composer Ramin Djawadi and his scoring has a unique blend of orchestrated sounds and electric guitar rock tunes. This helps the score for this particular MCU movie stand out from the other movies and gives a unique flair to the origins of Tony Stark becoming Iron Man.
This would only be the first in a long lineup of many other MCU films to come, but man did they start off on such a strong note. Iron Man is a fun and action-packed superhero film that has an engaging story, great character development from our main lead, CGI visuals that even today are still as impressive now as they were back in 2008, and a rocking music score that combines rock music with traditional orchestrated tunes. If the end credit scene tells us anything, it’s that things are gonna get even bigger as there is much more to the MCU universe than this solidly crafted movie is letting us on.
(Final Grade: A-)