The year was
2008. Something called a recession was happening, which my
fifteen-year-old-self knew was a very bad thing because Woolworths had closed
for good.
Marvel Studios
had been doing quite well for itself up until this point, showing cinemagoers
that yes, you could watch Nightcrawler teleport his way through the Whitehouse
(X Men 2, 2003), and hear Spiderman whoop as he soared through New York
like it was a normal, everyday occurrence (Spiderman Trilogy, 2002-2007).
As a fan of the
comics as a kid, my dad was sceptical about the Iron Man movie; I had
every bit of faith that it would be awesome. At that point in time I was
writing monthly reviews for what was the Connexions website, and Iron Man was
one of them – it was one of my first reviews to get a 5-star rating.
Like my review of
Moulin Rouge, comments from my younger self will be highlighted in pink.
The Director: Jon Favreau
Certificate: 12A
Released in UK cinemas: 2nd May 2008
The Plot:
Tony Stark (Downey Jr, Chef), has it all. Women. Money. Fast cars. He has built a business empire through Stark Industries, designing weapons of mass destruction. He travels to Afghanistan to demonstrate the latest creation, but the US soldiers are attacked by Afghani rebels. They capture and imprison a mortally wounded Stark. He builds a special disk in his chest, so the shrapnel won’t go into his heart, and escapes by building a metal suit. And, thus, Iron Man is born.
The Review:
2008: The story is moulded well in the fact there is [actually] a war in Iraq.
2019: Well, it was nice to know I was paying attention to the news! Iron Man felt realistic for its time; it makes one wonder if there is a millionaire attempting to build a flying suit (or dress as a bat and fight crime, come to think of it). Saying that, Tony Stark is brilliant, and he knows it – the same goes for Robert Downey Jr. The film is even more of a triumph when you consider how Robert Downey Jr. had been struggling with addiction for years before taking on Stark pivotal role. It should also be noted that the script for Iron Man wasn’t finished when they went to film it. Most of Downey’s lines were improvised, including the infamous line, “I am Iron Man.”₁ While Jeff Bridges relished the “student-film” feel of the film, poor Gwenyth Paltrow struggled to ad-lib because she rarely knew what Robert Downey Jr. was going to say, or do, next!₂ The proof is in her performance, but given that Pepper Potts is Stark’s long-suffering assistant, that works just fine.
Bridges plays Obadiah Stane (what a name!) Tony’s mentor and friend. This wasn’t an immediate comic book villain, Stane could easily be any ambitious business tycoon looking to get to the top. A key scene begins with him rolling into Stark Industries on a Segway with a fat cigar between his teeth. His true colours roll in with him, and Bridges makes it sinister, but very enjoyable.
2008: This film didn’t disappoint me at all, and being a Marvel film, expect a mind-blowingly fantastic [battle] between Iron Man and Iron Monger (Jeff Bridges) with plenty of explosions added in!
2019: Is that a spoiler? Oh, I tried so hard not to put in any spoilers and fell at the last hurdle.
2008: Also – for all those eagle-eyed viewers out there – try and spot Marvel man Stan Lee amidst the crowd at a party outside!
2019: One of many cameos from the late, great Stan Lee. Spiderman: Far From Home felt weird without him.
2008: I give this film ***** 5 STARS OUT OF 5
2019: 3 STARS OUT OF 5
₁ “The script was not completely finished when filming began, since the filmmakers were more focused on the story and the action, so the dialogue was mostly ad-libbed throughout filming…Robert Downey, Jr. would ask for many takes of one scene, since he wanted to try something new.”
“Jeff Bridges said he felt really uncomfortable not having a script or rehearsals, since normally he is very prepared, and knows his lines word for word. Realizing it was like he was in a "two hundred million dollar student film" took the pressure off of him and made it fun.”
₂ “...Gwyneth Paltrow, on the other hand, had a difficult time trying to match Downey with a suitable line, as she never knew what he would say.”
The Cast:
Robert
Downey Jr. – Tony Stark/Iron Man
Gwyneth
Paltrow – Pepper Potts
Terrence
Howard – Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes
Jeff
Bridges – Obadiah Stane/ Iron Monger
Jon Favreau - Happy
Certificate: 12A
Released in UK cinemas: 2nd May 2008
The Plot:
Tony Stark (Downey Jr, Chef), has it all. Women. Money. Fast cars. He has built a business empire through Stark Industries, designing weapons of mass destruction. He travels to Afghanistan to demonstrate the latest creation, but the US soldiers are attacked by Afghani rebels. They capture and imprison a mortally wounded Stark. He builds a special disk in his chest, so the shrapnel won’t go into his heart, and escapes by building a metal suit. And, thus, Iron Man is born.
The Review:
2008: The story is moulded well in the fact there is [actually] a war in Iraq.
2019: Well, it was nice to know I was paying attention to the news! Iron Man felt realistic for its time; it makes one wonder if there is a millionaire attempting to build a flying suit (or dress as a bat and fight crime, come to think of it). Saying that, Tony Stark is brilliant, and he knows it – the same goes for Robert Downey Jr. The film is even more of a triumph when you consider how Robert Downey Jr. had been struggling with addiction for years before taking on Stark pivotal role. It should also be noted that the script for Iron Man wasn’t finished when they went to film it. Most of Downey’s lines were improvised, including the infamous line, “I am Iron Man.”₁ While Jeff Bridges relished the “student-film” feel of the film, poor Gwenyth Paltrow struggled to ad-lib because she rarely knew what Robert Downey Jr. was going to say, or do, next!₂ The proof is in her performance, but given that Pepper Potts is Stark’s long-suffering assistant, that works just fine.
Bridges plays Obadiah Stane (what a name!) Tony’s mentor and friend. This wasn’t an immediate comic book villain, Stane could easily be any ambitious business tycoon looking to get to the top. A key scene begins with him rolling into Stark Industries on a Segway with a fat cigar between his teeth. His true colours roll in with him, and Bridges makes it sinister, but very enjoyable.
2008: This film didn’t disappoint me at all, and being a Marvel film, expect a mind-blowingly fantastic [battle] between Iron Man and Iron Monger (Jeff Bridges) with plenty of explosions added in!
2019: Is that a spoiler? Oh, I tried so hard not to put in any spoilers and fell at the last hurdle.
2008: Also – for all those eagle-eyed viewers out there – try and spot Marvel man Stan Lee amidst the crowd at a party outside!
2019: One of many cameos from the late, great Stan Lee. Spiderman: Far From Home felt weird without him.
Iron Man might seem small, even formulaic, by recent Marvel films’ standards, but the true villain came as a real surprise and the film overall kick-started a legacy - what would become the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the next ten/eleven years. Not only that, from a personal point of view, the trailer and the film introduced me to the mighty Black Sabbath!
The Verdict:
2019: 3 STARS OUT OF 5
₁ “The script was not completely finished when filming began, since the filmmakers were more focused on the story and the action, so the dialogue was mostly ad-libbed throughout filming…Robert Downey, Jr. would ask for many takes of one scene, since he wanted to try something new.”
“Jeff Bridges said he felt really uncomfortable not having a script or rehearsals, since normally he is very prepared, and knows his lines word for word. Realizing it was like he was in a "two hundred million dollar student film" took the pressure off of him and made it fun.”
₂ “...Gwyneth Paltrow, on the other hand, had a difficult time trying to match Downey with a suitable line, as she never knew what he would say.”
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