Iron Man (2008)

Directed by: Jon Favreau | 123 minutes | action, drama, thriller, adventure, science fiction | Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Leslie Bibb, Clark Gregg, Stan Lee, Shaun Toub, Sahar Bibiyan, Ghostface Killah, Faran Tahir, Bill Smitrovich, Samuel L. Jackson, Hilary Swank

The comic book hero Iron Man is one of the lesser known comic book heroes from the Marvel Comics stable to the general public, although he is one of their most popular characters. In any case, he is not as widely known as Spider-Man or X-Men, for example. Perhaps that’s why he was just about the last to get his own film, which, incidentally, started with quite a few problems. Reportedly, the idea of ​​an Iron Man movie has been around since 1990. After having previously appeared in various cartoon (series), Tony Stark and his iron alter ego now finally have their own film. Produced by Marvel itself through their production company Marvel Studios, with which they want to take the film adaptations of their own comic book heroes more firmly in hand.

It was already announced in advance that the film would be different from other superhero films. First, Iron Man’s character has a different background than many other superheroes. Not an alien foundling flying around in a red cape and pants or a shy boy who changes into a spider man by the bite of a spider. As a smart and wealthy businessman/playboy, Tony Stark is reminiscent of Bruce Wayne, the true face of Batman. Both have lost their parents in a tragic event and both are turning away from their rich, materialistic lives to fight against evil. It’s not surprising that ‘Iron Man’ director Jon Favreau cited Christopher Nolan’s 2005 film ‘Batman Begins’ as his source of inspiration. But Stark is revolutionizing in another respect. A key player in the arms race, he was the man who, through his company, provided the world with the latest war technologies. However, he is experiencing the terrible consequences of the spread of these technologies. And he decides to use the technology to combat his own weapons. Director Favreau also wanted to give the film a more realistic tone than other comic book hero films. The choice of Jeff Bridges as an opponent of Iron Man and the interpretation of his role seem to be a consequence of this.

Robert Downey Jr. portrays the arrogant and quick-witted cynic Stark with gusto. Bridges has a beautiful face as Obadiah Stane, but he doesn’t make a lot of fun with it. The other players are also satisfactory, although the roles of Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard as Pepper Potts and Jim Rhodes respectively are not fully explored. The fact is that director Favreau has a trilogy in mind with the Iron Man project. This allowed him to deepen the character of Tony Stark and other characters and further develop various aspects of the Iron Man universe. In this ‘Iron Man’ several impulses are given, such as Stark’s alcohol addiction that he would struggle with later in the stories, the reference to the suit that will be worn by Rhodes in the guise of Warmachine and we also come across the SHIELD organization against who plays an influential role in the Marvel Comics stories. The impulses are there and it would be a great pity if it were to stay with this one film.

Leaving aside the aspect of the sequels, Iron Man is a fast-paced and glowing action film that looks and sounds impressive. The different robot constructions are especially nice to see, but the music of Ramin Djawadi, who has a hard, modern guitar sound, also pumps things up nicely. For fans of the comics a chance to see a modern interpretation of the Iron Man myth and for fans of superhero action movies a nice two hours of entertainment. And damn, does that Black Sabbath song sound good!