I remember initially being a bit skeptical about Iron Man coming to screen. I thought that getting Robert Downey Jr. was a steal, but I was worried if Jon Favreau had the directing chops to pull off something of this scale. The most impressive thing to me is that they set up Iron Man in a way that pulled me in 2 minutes into the movie by starting off as comic book movie but grounding it in reality.
Having Tony's convoy attacked right away sets the tone and instantly hooks you into the story of Iron Man. The ability to ground an iconic comic book character with current event realities enhances the audiences investment into character almost immediately. After his own missile blows up on him, we are re-introduced to Tony... the playboy, billionaire. This is the quintessential Tony from the comics, partier, drinker, womanizer, with the sharp wit and a strong taste for beautiful women.
In my opinion, the movie really takes off when Tony is in captivity and working on building the Mark 1 suit hoping to escape. Watching his brilliance at work and the machinations needed required to create Iron Man was truly fascinating, as well as a great precursor to what would become some of the best moments later in the movie as Iron Man is remodeled. RDJ is Tony Stark, Marvel could not have found anyone better suited to play the man who would become Iron Man. In so many ways RDJ and Tony are one in the same. His interactions with Jarvis while working on the Mark 2 suit are priceless and a great buildup to finally seeing Tony in his full Mark 2 glory.
By the point that Tony heads off on his first Iron Man mission, I am completely invested, with only one aspect of the movie leaving me wanting more. I feel like there could be a much deeper development into the machinations of Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane. There is a deep desire for Power in Obadiah that I feel could have been developed much better and also set up the final climax to be much more potent. I still find Terence Howard as Rhodey to be a fine piece of the puzzle, I'm not all that upset that he was replaced, and I will delve into his replacement when writing about Iron Man 2. The introduction to Phil Coulson is also a great surprise and highlight in the movie which will become all the more meaningful as the Movie Universe makes it way to the Avengers.
Overall I think this is a great way to begin the setup for the Avengers. As Tony says.. "I am Iron Man", and we are all truly lucky that he is because this is obviously the start of something big. Congratulations Mr. Favreau you have made on hell of a comicbook SuperHero movie.
My last nugget on Iron Man is a reflection of appreciation to Marvel on setting up the post credits scene that references the bigger picture and the potential of what they are planning to do in their cinematic Universe. It's amazing how one short scene can go so far to amp up the reaction to fans everywhere. Avengers Initative.. I am so in!!!
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