Re-Crit: Iron Man (2008) - 10 Years Later
It didn’t kick off the current modern era of super hero movies; That was X-Men (2000). It’s not the best super hero movie of all time; That would be The Dark Knight (2008). But Iron Man (2008) is arguably the most important of any super hero film, not only for being the first film in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, but for setting the foundation for nearly every super hero film to come out since. Iron Man perfected the formula for success, a template which at its worst guarantees a competent film and at its best a phenomenal one. And it being the 10 year anniversary of Marvel Studio’s first film, coupled with Avengers: Infinity War (2018) looming in the immediate future, I thought it best to revisit the film that started it all.
Probably the most important thing Iron Man did for all super hero movies was the tone that it set. This is essential for any super hero film to be successful, because the tone can oft times make or break your movie. We’re dealing with a subject matter that is equal parts fantastic and absurd, but deals with characters and themes that are quite real and relatable. If your film is too dark and serious you wind up with Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). If it’s too campy and silly, you’ve got yourself Fantastic Four (2005). Iron Man is the quintessential example of what happens when you balance dark and outrageous appropriately. The film takes itself seriously, but not too much, and even goes as far as to acknowledge the ludicrousness of it all. Director Jon Favreau knows when to step back and allow the immensity of the film’s events to play out, but he also knows when it’s time to laugh, benefiting from the cast’s strong performances.
The next crucial part of the Marvel film making process is the casting. While it’s hard to imagine anyone else as Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr. may not have been the most obvious choice when the casting decisions were made. Though an acclaimed actor in many great films, until Iron Man, he had never starred in a blockbuster film of any sort. And that’s the key. When you want to fill the role of your hero, you don’t necessarily want the most famous or well-known actor, but a capable, second-tier thespian that actually fits the role will do nicely. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Pratt, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, etc., have all enjoyed a surge of popularity since they took on the roles of their respective characters, but each one of these actors could never claim that level of success before they joined the Marvel-verse, which means when chosen for the part, it’s because they’re the right person and not because they’re a super star.
The rest of the trends that Iron Man set for future super hero films are almost obligatory at this point. Iron Man incorporates the one-off villain, the climactic sky beam, the love interest, and the end credits scenes that we’ve come to expect in most Marvel (and many other) super hero films. While these motifs don’t always make appearances in Marvel’s films, they do quite often, and it’s all thanks to Iron Man. It’s also due to these motifs that Marvel’s films are so often seen as cookie-cutter, cut-and-pasted, and clichéd, which may explain their absence in some of Marvel’s most recent films. Good call, Marvel, you don’t want to start going stale.
Even after 18 films, I still consider Iron Man to be one of my favorite MCU films. It’s been ten years and the film is still enjoyable and has aged better than most films with that much time. The special effects are the best kind of effects, where your brain doesn’t notice that they’re CGI. The characters are memorable, Robert Downey Jr.’s performance is iconic and a major highlight of the film, and the action’s execution is both exciting and comprehensible, which is such a difficult task to expect from an action blockbuster. Iron Man came out at a time when super hero films were still a relatively uncommon occurrence, but thanks to its release, we now have an average of four every year. What an age we live in.
Iron Man,
You Got Re-Crit
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