The following is an in-depth story analysis. If you haven't seen this movie, you might want to before reading this review
It seems to me that the best superhero films are the ones that can fit into some other category. That isn't to say that most superhero movies don't also fit into other genres, but a lot of them fall onto the same genre: action films. Iron Man is a movie with action in it, but it's more important elements are comedy, drama and corporate espionage, and that balances all three of those very well. Part of its success is that it doesn't fall into the same tiring superhero formula, and that makes it more real than some other superhero movies. Iron Man is a superhero most people heard of before the movies, but it didn't have the fanbase Batman, Superman, or Spider Man had, so rather to try and live on Iron Man's legacy, director Jon Favreau introduced people to it, and with Robert Downey Jr, he created a Tony Stark who is extremely faithful to the comic book counterpart, and yet somehow, a little more likeable, a little more fun, a little crazier, and perhaps, even more relatable. It's unusual that a comic book movie would set the president of what should be done with a decade's old character, and that's what has happened to Tony Stark, especially with the successful The Invincible Iron Man title. I don't think you can underestimate the craftsmanship both in the writing and the acting which turned Tony into a likable and relatable protagonist. I'd go as far as to say that it's about the most likable superhero brought to screen. That's really impressive if you think about the strikes he's had going against him in the get go.
Number one, he makes weapons for the government. Nobody likes war, and a lot of people don't like the government. Number two, he's rich. It's instantly difficult to find a rich person relatable, especially millionaires, or billionaires. The first thing moviegoers would think about rich protagonists is that their problems are nothing compared to other people's. After all, they are rich; what do they have to worry about? Number three, he's arrogant. Tony Stark is rich, and he's self absorbed, and yet I find him both likeable and relatable. So, why don't these three strikes turn people off from Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark?
Number one, his company makes weapons; he sells the US military the most state of the art weapons there are, and the world is safer because hostile countries can't compete. It's evident from the beginning that his heart is in the right place. He doesn't make weapons because he wants to hurt people, he just believes there is necessary evil to make the world as safe as it can be. It's important that he learns in the first half hour that his weapons are given to the wrong hands, so that he can begin a character arc that will bring him out of that naivety. He's made especially sympathetic when he comes back from his captivity and immediately announces that Stark Enterprises is getting out of weapons manufacturing, despite a stock plunge and nearly everyone finding his decision be insane.
Number two, he's rich. Despite Bruce Wayne's money, fans care about Batman because his tragic past causes him to clean up the crime in his city. Main characters need to be proactive, and if your character has vast resources at his disposal, then he needs to be double proactive. Tony Stark doesn't get a tragic past, but his experience getting kidnapped by terrorists who have gotten ahold of his weapons, and try to force him to make more, caused him to become proactive about a problem he helped start. This really separates him from other superheros and makes him real because he doesn't put on a costume to stop random crimes. Every time we see Tony Stark as Iron Man, he's either defending himself, or trying to clean up his own mess. If he had a motto, it could be with great mistakes comes great responsibility.
Number three, he's arrogant. He's also really witty, charming, and charismatic. True, his arrogance is a character flaw, and he never loses that; this movie is about him getting to terms with his naivety. He has so many character flaws; he can only explore one per film.
This trade is a source of much of the film's comedy. It makes him impatient and careless , which is why he slams himself into a wall the first time he tries out his repulsor technology; why he tries to fly the moment after just getting the hang of hovering; and why he does a lot of dangerous experiments next to a bunch of expensive cars. At first, I thought this was taking his eccentricity too far; no one, no matter how rich, would act like this. Then there's the scene where he tells Pepper to throw away his first miniature arc reactor; the one he built to keep his heart going whilst he was in the cave. He says he isn't sentimental, so he doesn't care about keeping it. So even though he throws his money around, none of his expensive cars and toys really mean anything to him. If he breaks or loses anything, he will just buy another one. And in the cave, when he's with the man who assisted him in building his first Iron Man suit, after learning he has no family, says he's a man who has everything, and nothing. Tony seems perfectly aware of this, and that makes him a little sad even while we're laughing at him. It's also hard for me to be too irritated with someone for being arrogant who's brilliant enough to build a robot suit and an arc reactor in a cave with a bunch of scraps.
I love Stark's relationship with Pepper Potts. She's the love interest, but in a very subtle way, and though it's clear they have feelings for each other, they don't really wind up together at the end. They look like they've known each other for years, and Favreau made a good move by letting Downey and Paltrow to addlib dialogue. They often interrupt and talk over each other, and that helps make the relationship real. I like how Pepper is used to Tony's arrogance, and still calls him on it, and Tony acknowledges this flaw repeatedly, and never manages to change it. Unlike the typical girl in a superhero story, she also isn't okay with him being Iron Man, and even when he convinces her not to resign, it's still obvious this is something she won't take lightly; a theme that is built on heavily in the sequel.
This is also a movie that tightly weaves its themes together. It's careful not to get too heavy in its subject matter, nor to present its ideas in superficial terms. It very easily could have been another anti-war movie. Tony Stark could have done a complete 180 degree turn after his experience in the cave. First, he was pro-weapons, now he's anti-weapons. Instead, Favreau makes him use weapons, but he goes after the people who are misusing his technology. Yes, Iron Man kills people because he's in a warzone where unarmed people are being removed from their houses and shot in the streets. Nothing is presented as black and white in this movie.
I heard the criticism that Iron Man is uneven in its tone; sometimes it's very dark and sometimes it's very lighthearted. I can see where that comes from, but it works for me because Tony Stark has to go to a dark place before he can begin his character arc.
I heard the criticism that Iron Man is uneven in its tone; sometimes it's very dark and sometimes it's very lighthearted. I can see where that comes from, but it works for me because Tony Stark has to go to a dark place before he can begin his character arc.
So, the movie starts with the status quo: Tony drinking, gambling, sleeping with women, making Rhodey wait three hours at his private jet; being generally irresponsible in every way. These scenes are funny, but they also show us that while Tony seems to be living the good life, he's missing a sense of purpose. Then he gets kidnapped, and the tone shifts. This makes sense because we have to witness Tony's despair to appreciate his development. When he returns, things get more lighthearted. The tone shifts, but I don't find it jarring. If he spent all this time after the cave, bruting, the movie wouldn't be any fun, and if he was constantly cracking jokes in the cave, the movie would seem silly.
Because Tony builds a device to keep the shrapnel from his heart, the word heart comes a lot in the dialogue and becomes a theme in its own. This could've been sappy, but like Tony and Pepper's relationship, it's subtle and was worked in craftly. Pepper keeps the first miniature arc reactor even though Tony doesn't want it, and cleverly puts a sign on it that says "proof that Tony Stark has a heart". Later after she catches him taking off his Iron Man armor, she asks him why he has to fight the people who are misusing his weapons. She almost resigns over it, not wanting him to get himself killed. Then he says "I know in my heart this is what I have to do". He reminds her, perhaps unknowingly, that he is a passionate person and his conscience won't let him ignore what's going on. He really does have a heart. After we learn Obadiah Stane was the one that sold weapons to terrorists, he tells Pepper "Tony left a part of himself in that cave. It breaks my heart". That's great, because he's completely insincere, and it's obvious by this point that he has no heart. Finally, Obadiah later says he wants to build a generation of weapons with this at its heart; the arc reactor. The thing that symbolizes Stark's humanity, used by Obadiah for selfish and inhumane purposes.
Because Tony builds a device to keep the shrapnel from his heart, the word heart comes a lot in the dialogue and becomes a theme in its own. This could've been sappy, but like Tony and Pepper's relationship, it's subtle and was worked in craftly. Pepper keeps the first miniature arc reactor even though Tony doesn't want it, and cleverly puts a sign on it that says "proof that Tony Stark has a heart". Later after she catches him taking off his Iron Man armor, she asks him why he has to fight the people who are misusing his weapons. She almost resigns over it, not wanting him to get himself killed. Then he says "I know in my heart this is what I have to do". He reminds her, perhaps unknowingly, that he is a passionate person and his conscience won't let him ignore what's going on. He really does have a heart. After we learn Obadiah Stane was the one that sold weapons to terrorists, he tells Pepper "Tony left a part of himself in that cave. It breaks my heart". That's great, because he's completely insincere, and it's obvious by this point that he has no heart. Finally, Obadiah later says he wants to build a generation of weapons with this at its heart; the arc reactor. The thing that symbolizes Stark's humanity, used by Obadiah for selfish and inhumane purposes.
It's surprisingly entertaining and socially relevant, and it deserves all the fame it achieves, but it's better at pacing its comedy and drama than integrating its action.
8.5/10
The only real complaint I have is the final fight between Tony and Obadiah, or, Iron Man and Iron Monger. The only thing in the movie that feels like a cliche retread. The big bad guy's last effort to kill the hero, fight inauspiciously out in the open. If Obadiah was the brutish, kill everything in his path kind of villain, it wouldn't be a problem, but we didn't even know he was the villain until halfway through the movie. He's been strategic and calculating about everything. He's managed to sell weapons under the table without Stark knowing about it. Even after Stark escapes from the cave, it was over two months before he discovered Obadiah was the one who hired the Ten Rings to kill him. Robert Downey and Jeff Bridges have excellent chemistry and really seem like they've been friends and colleagues for years, so it's a real surprise, at least if you don't know who Obadiah Stane is in the comics, when we find that he's scheming to kill Tony and take the company for himself.
I really resist the big fight, because despite of desperation, I find it hard to believe to find this guy would put on his big Iron Monger suit and find Stark out in the open. What would he do if he killed Tony? Hoped the giant suit didn't trace back to him even though only a handful of people could possibly have the access to that technology? It seems like it's only there because it's a superhero movie, and there hasn't been enough action yet; and Pepper Potts needs something else to do, even though, in my opinion, she helped Tony put the arc reactor back in his chest, stealing files from Obadiah, and question Tony's sanity already makes her plenty integral to the story. Add to that, silly action movie lines, which the film manages to avoid until the end, like when Obadiah yells "Impressive. You upgraded your armor". I just feel like Obadiah is an entirely different character, and I'm watching a whole other movie. Having said that, Tony revealing to the world that he's Iron Man is unexpected and brilliant. It's one of the most memorable endings to a film I've seen.
I really resist the big fight, because despite of desperation, I find it hard to believe to find this guy would put on his big Iron Monger suit and find Stark out in the open. What would he do if he killed Tony? Hoped the giant suit didn't trace back to him even though only a handful of people could possibly have the access to that technology? It seems like it's only there because it's a superhero movie, and there hasn't been enough action yet; and Pepper Potts needs something else to do, even though, in my opinion, she helped Tony put the arc reactor back in his chest, stealing files from Obadiah, and question Tony's sanity already makes her plenty integral to the story. Add to that, silly action movie lines, which the film manages to avoid until the end, like when Obadiah yells "Impressive. You upgraded your armor". I just feel like Obadiah is an entirely different character, and I'm watching a whole other movie. Having said that, Tony revealing to the world that he's Iron Man is unexpected and brilliant. It's one of the most memorable endings to a film I've seen.