MCU Review: Iron Man

Hello all and welcome to my first review of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's a bit dated by now but with The Avengers on it's way I thought it'd be cool to do a review brick by brick and see how these characters will be portrayed together.

Iron Man has been the bread and butter for the MCU and Marvel Studios these past 3 years and it's no question why: This movie made a point to branch off from any other CBM prior. It was done intelligently and tastefully and each actor breathes life into the characters and really defines a new standard for CBM's.

First off we have the cast:
Robert Downey Jr. portrays Tony Stark to a T! (Hehe) Everything you expect to see from the pages are on the silver screen. He manages to pull off his incredibly narcissistic attitude without overdoing it with gimmicks or with ongoing jokes that lose their taste, he instead keeps it fresh and witty and plays it off with the other defining characteristic of "Cool". The character development is also done very smooth. He is never truly shown to be out of element, even in an Afgan cave. And he doesn't rush into being the hero or the heart of gold everyman. His personality is the same post escape but his morals and his outlook on his life and how it effects the rest of the world all change.

Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow are not just the added supporting cast just to please the fans and reveal an Easter egg or two. They all play off of each others character and each has a pivotal role. Potts is not just the "Yes sir, No Sir" assistant. More often than not SHE'S practically doing his job and making decisions and hounding him. The turning tables and perfect chemistry make this film all the better. Terrence Howard plays a superb James Rhodes. He's Stark's best friend but at the same time there's constant tension each scene between the two which makes them best enemies at times. He's definitely my favorite Rhodey.

Jeff Bridges as Obidiah Stane. This is one of the BEST villains I've ever scene, Bridges pulls off playing a role who's playing a role. He doesn't break character at all until it's revealed who exactly is the villain and he doesn't give anything away. It's partly the way the film was written and partly Jeff Bridges and they go hand in hand perfectly. In the theaters I heard so many people go "Ooooh" when Potts goes to steal the computer files and THAT'S the villain that steals the show.

The rest of the film is pure inspiration and dedication. Jon Favreau had a genuine vision for this film and it shows with flying colors. Which is why I don't understand WHY the sequel had to be such a schtick. The CGI was great. I like the way they went with about 50/50 with CGI and hard plastic to create the suit instead of just one or the other. I'm not a fan of CGI really but they really used it to fill in the gaps.
The balance between plot development and action was great. This film was BOTH balanced and developed which in most movies it's not that hard to do but in a CBM it's a challenge because of the decades of continuity and that pick and choose one has to do. Not to mention, Iron Man isn't like the other heroes that have been portrayed onscreen. He's a public figure, a super hero, but also a military figure, giving the super hero genre a fresh feel as far as protagonists go. The action scene were pretty alright. Not like "Meh" but I mean it's a CBM that proves you don't need 20 minute fight scenes and extravagant amounts of things like screaming, flailing redheads held hostage, The ever repetitive running/confrontation and the villain spending another 20 minutes revealing his ultimate scheme pointlessly ruining the scene.

This film gets 4.5 out of 5 for me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and feedback is always appreciated and add your own opinions, again, with The Avengers quickly piling up news I'd like to hear you out on how YOU think Iron Man will do.