We now live in a world where it’s almost impossible to find someone who’s not heard of Marvel and its cinematic universe. Even if they’re not a fan, they most certainly have heard of these films. So I thought to myself, why not go back and give some of them a watch to see how well they’ve aged?
‘Iron Man’ was the first in their universe and originally designed to be a standalone film that could’ve linked in with other characters. The story was of Tony Stark, a genius billionaire whose company is rich from all the weapons it sells. He believes America to be his only buyer and when he’s taken hostage by a terrorist organization in an ‘unknown’ land, he forges an armour to escape and return home. Upon doing so, he is adamant that his company will no longer sell weapons to anyone, after seeing first-hand the damage they’re doing. Realizing this is an impossibility he sets to create a suit of armour to take on the injustice of the world.
I was surprised about how I felt when rewatching this film. I thought Robert Downey Jr. was pretty decent as the titular character. He’s obnoxious and arrogant, and exactly what the character was supposed to be when Stan Lee created him. Terrence Howard and Gweneth Paltrow in supporting roles are also not bad. The villain played by the legendary Jeff Bridges is creepy in a way that I wasn’t sure Bridges could be.
In terms of how this film catapulted Marvel into having the audacity to create a shared movie universe, I don’t particularly think it did. I think the film was designed to be standalone and that’s what makes it watchable and more importantly rewatchable. The music in the soundtrack has some absolute classic rock songs on it which go really well with some of the scenes in the film.
Overall, as I said, I was surprised that re-watching this film after so many years brought a smile to my face. Yeah, he’s cocky, but he’s a fun character to watch and it isn’t hard to see why ‘Iron Man’ became the central point of the whole shared universe. Whether or not the following films are just as rewatchable, you’ll just have to wait and find out!
Rating:
Story:★★★
Acting: ★★★½
Cinematography: ★★★½
Music: ★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★½