Iron Man

Released 2nd May 2008, Iron Man follows Tony Stark’s journey from an obnoxious weapons developer to being the ‘superhero’ Iron Man. Perhaps the greatest part of this film is that it’s narrative does not shy away from the flawed character traits of Tony and takes them in stride; traits which enable the audience to better connect to him and his unique journey. In many ways, Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark feels more like a typical villain at the start of the film until he is kidnapped by terrorists and forced to confront the woes he causes. Even after his journey however, he comes across as an antihero in the way that he continues to be misogynistic and narcissistic but also wishing to fight against the system he aided in cycling; the film carries profound messages of power, corporate corruption and retrospection.

Of course, the rest of the cast are fantastic too; while his character begins to dip in quality later in the narrative, Jeff Bridges is able to instil great charisma into Obadiah Stane and maintains a strong chemistry with Downey Jr. This chemistry is also held up by Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow as James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes and Pepper Potts, respectively. Howard does a good enough job as Tony’s straight-man who tires to keep him in check while also being someone to confide in whereas Paltrow is able to bring a quirky energy to the loyal Pepper Potts. Her chemistry with Downey Jr also makes for a truly unique love-plot which manages to teeter away from cliché. The best part of the cast however is perhaps their comedic delivery across every scene. While most superhero films of the time were either cartoonish, campy or stone-dead serious, Iron Man succeeds in establishing a laid back sense of humour which many other films in the franchise adopt for the now ‘Marvel formula’.

Ramin Djawadi’s is surprisingly great with its aesthetic choices of metal rock in its soundtrack; these choices work to enhance the rockstar caricature of Tony Stark and even creates some brilliant motifs. Praise is also fully deserved in the visual effects which are very akin to 2007’s Transformers and the subsequent breakthroughs it made. Every single suit in the film is imagined and executed to look like a machine with gears and pulleys operating simultaneously; aspects which make the suits 100% believable. That is the best way to describe the film; in spite of the subgenre it belongs to, Iron Man manages to strike a harmonious balance between the world of superheroes and the world we live in.