My Favorite Films: Iron Man (2008)

     This might come as a surprise to some people, but I'm fairly new to the geek culture scene. Seven years ago I'd never seen a super-hero movie in my life. Along with works of science fiction and fantasy, comic book inspired movies were generally discouraged by my parents. That all changed when I watched Jon Favreau's Iron Man back in 2011. Iron Man seemed like a different kind of superhero. He had no superpowers, no secret identity and he didn't fight flashy supervillains (or so I thought). Surely this was an exception my parents superhero prohibition. Then I watched the movie.

     It initially drew me in with it's Rambo/James Bond style story-line of a man who uses his wits and skills to overcome a superior foe but, as it went on, the comic book world-building (personified by Clark Gregg's agent Coulson) started to draw me in. At this point I was already aware that Iron Man was going to cross over with Hulk, Thor and Captain America in The Avengers, but I never for a second thought that that would ever work. This film and the ones that followed it would prove me wrong. This was the first step in a long journey to my becoming a comic book geek. Seven years later, I've watched every movie and television show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (sans Inhumans), as well as countless other DC and Marvel films, and am now a regular patron of my local comic book store. And I owe it all to Iron Man.

     So what about the film itself, does it hold up as a piece of entertainment? As should be obvious from the title of this review, yes it does. In fact, it seems even more fresh and exciting than it did when I first saw it. One thing that surprised me was how much of a sleaze Tony Stark is at the beginning of the film. He misses the award ceremony presided over by his friend Rhodey to go gambling, he sleeps with the "crusading" journalist who questions the ethical implications his company's selling of weapons, and he treats the sale of the new, powerful Jericho missile like he's selling a sports car. Taking a self-centered, egotistical but still likable jerk through a redemptive arc has become a staple of the MCU, the origin stories of Thor, Star Lord and Doctor Strange are all variations on this theme, but none of them have felt quite as risque or degenerate as Tony Stark.

     In the comics, Tony Stark doesn't initially stop producing weapons after becoming Iron Man, rather this is something the writers introduced later on, as the comic book industry became more socially aware. Incorporating this into his origin was an ingenious move on the writers' part. The movie does a really good job, in general, with condensing different elements from 40 years of Iron Man comics into a single narrative and with capturing the spirit of its source material. At his core Tony Stark is a man who is constantly trying to atone for the sins of his past in order to build a better future, and that is exactly what the character from the movies is. 

     One thing that really distinguishes this film from many of the other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is its sense of earnestness. There is a scene about halfway through the movie where Tony asks Pepper Potts to hack into Stark Industries computer system in order to uncover who else Obadiah Stane has sold weapons to. Pepper, at first, refuses to help him, as she feels that Tony is endangering his life through his endeavors. Tony, however, is insistent telling her that he shouldn't be alive, "unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right."

     Heart is a theme that runs throughout the film, being symbolized, most explicitly, by the arc reactor in Tony's chest, which also serves as the movies maguffin. He builds this in Afghanistan, after being attacked and kidnapped by terrorists, who use his own weapons against him, leaving him with shrapnel traveling toward his heart. Along with this new, artificial "heart" comes the sobering realization that he has lived, up to this point, a lie, deluding himself into thinking that all of his weapons development served the good of humanity. This is emblematic of his life in general, one of constant partying and indulgence but one with no real meaning. At first, Stark's predicament leads him to defeatism and it's only through the encouragement of his fellow prisoner, Yinsen, that he decides to build the Iron Man suit and attempt an escape. Yinsen is killed when he draws off the terrorists to buy Tony time to power up the suit. With his dying breath he tells Stark, "Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." Watching this good man die to save him gives Tony the final push he needs. He decides, from this moment forward, to use his resources and his genius in service of humanity.

     Tony Stark is, front and center, the focus of this film but the supporting characters are still adequately fleshed out and their relationships with Stark feel genuine. Obadiah Stane is a much more unassuming and restrained supervillain then had been typical up to this point. Though it's clear that he is envious of Tony's fame and success he never let's this get in the way of his plans. Rather he is able to subtlety manipulate Tony so that the revelation that he was behind Stark's kidnapping feels both a shocking and, somehow, like something we should have seen coming. Pepper Potts is also a more fully formed character then your usual movie love interest. She clearly has feelings for Tony but won't pursue them because she knows he's irresponsible and self obsessed. As he grows as a character we see her grow closer to him yet, even by the end of the film she is not ready to fully commit to a relationship, turning the tables when he tries to win her over by reminding her of their almost-not-quite kiss earlier in the film. "Are you talking about the night that we danced and went up on the roof, and then you went downstairs to get me a drink, and you left me there, by myself?"

     The film is subtly subversive like that and the romance between Tony and Pepper owes more to screwball comedies like His Girl Friday then to comic books. The typical hand wringing the protagonist would go through over revealing his secret identity to his significant other is simply not present here. Pepper just stumbles upon Tony as he's changing out of his Iron Man armor and he immediately takes her into his confidence. Similarly, the scene at the end where Tony reveals his secret identity to the world may not seem surprising 10 years later but, at the time, it was unprecedented. In the movie world up to this point every super-hero had a secret identity and this usually played a big role in the story of the film. By having Tony say "I am Iron Man" on national television the film was breaking precedent and opening the door for a different kind of superhero movie moving forward, one less beholden to the conventions of soap opera romance.

     Like most Marvel movies Iron Man is filled with subversive humor but it works dramatically in a way many others don't because having Tony's bravado undercut by a humorous moment serves as a comeuppance for his egoism and vanity rather than undermining the character's heroism. Similarly the characters own sardonic sense of humor is not just there so the audience can have a laugh at the expense of the story, rather it comes from a character place. Tony uses it as a shield, hiding his personal trauma behind a public face that is snarky, irreverent and supremely self-confident.

     One element that really makes Iron Man stand out among it superhero brethren is Jon Favreau's direction. He approached the film like an indie comedy (a genre that Favreau cut his teeth in) making generous use of improvisational acting and overlapping dialogue. Indeed, at the start of production Favreau had more of an outline then a full-fledged script, so most of the dialogue was improvised by he and Robert Downey Jr. The scene at the press conference, where Tony announces that his company will no longer produce weapons, was scripted by Downey himself the night before it was shot. Allowing his actors this level of input into his film allowed them to really shape their characters and bring them to life. It also resulted in more genuine, spontaneous human interaction in the actors' onscreen exchanges. As a result, Iron Man has a realistic, down-to-earth tone that is really unique within the superhero genre.

     Of course, Robert Downey Jr. absolutely carries the film. He was an inspired choice to play Tony Stark. When he was cast the actor was coming off of a six year recovery period after a long struggle with substance abuse, arrests, and numerous legal troubles. His own life had been something of a redemption story and Downey really clearly channeled his life experience into the role. He worked exceptionally well with Jon Favreau, improvising and "creating" his character as the production went along. He also has great chemistry with his fellow cast members, particularly Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow and Jeff Bridges really convey the fact that their characters have a long, complicated relationship with Tony that extends beyond what we see in the film. Some actors embody the characters they play but Robert Downey Jr. made Iron Man his own. The success of the film would lead the actor to an unprecedented level of fame and popularity, and he topped Forbes list of highest paid actor's for three years in a row, from 2013 to 2015.

     The world of Iron Man is filled with technology that seems just out of reach, from the computer program's Tony uses, to the weapons he builds, to the suit itself everything feels really believable. This is largely thanks to the many effects artists who worked on the film. This is the last film Stan Winston, the special effects artist behind Jurassic Park and Alien, would ever be involved in and, while there's nothing here as groundbreaking as his earlier work (but really, what is?) the special effects of Iron Man are still spectacular. I would go so far as to say that there as good or better as any Marvel movie made before or since. CGI is always more convincing when used along side practical effects, it gives the effects artists a more realistic basis for there work and helps the audience to believe what there seeing on screen. The suits built by Stan Winston Studios lend Iron Man a sense of realism you couldn't attain otherwise. The sound design, by Skywalker Sound, is also great, helping to breath life into all of Stark's tech.

     For better or for worse Iron Man changed cinema. It made both Tony Stark and Robert Downey Jr. into household names and it kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an idea the rest of Hollywood is still struggling to try and replicate. Personally it helped me to begin my journey as a comic book fan and led me to a heavier involvement in modern cinema. Besides this, its a great piece of entertainment with witty dialogue, energetic performances, and jaw-dropping special effects all in service of a focused, character-driven origin story with genuine heart and emotion.