IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched on Blu-Ray
Everything could have ended with "Iron Man" before it even really began. In retrospect, the first Marvel solo directed by Jon Favreau is probably, along with Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight", the film that really ignited the hype about superheroes and comic book adaptations in 2008. And that almost has a comical feel to it, when now, a full 15 years later, both films are representative of one of the two competing sides. "The Dark Knight" stole the superhero genre's innocence by taking its costumed protagonist into the dark, realistic setting of a psychological thriller and pushing him to the limits of his self-imposed code - asking questions and showing images you hadn't seen in comic book adaptations at the time. And it laid the foundation for the approach DC is now taking to expand its own "Cinematic Universe" - away from fun and bright colours, towards sepia tones and bitter faces. On the other hand: "Iron Man". A film that embraces its comic book origins instead of denying them, that is colourful and loud, that wants to be fun and is fun. And above all: which is far from stupid because of that.
Jon Favreau may not delve as deeply into the inner life of his titular protagonist with "Iron Man" as Nolan did with his Batman, nor unearth anything too interesting or new, but he never gives the impression of wanting more than that either. He is content to draw the transformation of a misanthropic arms dealer into a narcissistic superhero, and he succeeds so well because he never tries to uncover a profound psychogram, but is above all designed for one thing: fun. Iron Man" could not be closer to the format of a classic fun blockbuster.
It goes without saying that a blockbuster of this magnitude also needs a huge portion of ka-boom, and Favreau doesn't let his guard down. The action scenes never take on too exaggerated proportions and are only used in a well-dosed manner. In retrospect, however, the film lacks the one big scene, the moment that really sticks in the mind. The finale in particular is unfortunately a touch too limp. And the structure is also a little lacking: on closer inspection, "Iron Man" virtually falls into two halves: The first half, in which Tony Stark assembles Mark 1 in captivity, and the second, in which he develops the suit further at home. Both halves are stylistically too different from each other to ever really mesh. What should not go unmentioned, however, is the soundtrack by Ramin Djawadi. Because it rocks. And how it does.
But "Iron Man" gets his heart implanted by someone else: Robert Downey Jr., whose casting was considered a big risk after his drug excesses and other conflicts with the law. In retrospect, this decision was an absolute casting coup: RDJ doesn't just play Tony Stark, he is Tony Stark. You buy the arrogant billionaire just as well as the fiddling mastermind, and Downey's performance combines humour, coolness and emotionality with such playful ease that in retrospect it seems almost strange that any other actor was ever considered for the role. Favreau succeeds in staging the development of his main character smartly and without being too clichéd. In the supporting roles, sweet Gwyneth Paltrow shines as Tony's assistant and not-yet-girlfriend Pepper Potts and Jeff Bridges as the demonic Obadiah Stane. And Terrence Howard knows how to breathe little life into his underwritten not-yet sidekick (but at least this is commented on ironically towards the end).
