‘Iron Man’ (2008)

Stories with scientists as protagonists usually fall into a slightly preachy territory. Scientists often want to violate the natural order, and end up releasing a great deal of woe upon every living thing, those closest to them, or even themselves. Think of The Fly, Frankenstein, or even the Hulk, who is also part of the Marvel Cinematographic Universe.

In some ways, Iron Man tells a similar story.

With multiple PhD’s, and one of the most brilliant minds of the world, Tony focuses first on maintaining his lifestyle as a happy-go-lucky millionaire, and not in finding some breakthrough discovery that will change the world with tragic consequences –at least, not yet!

However, he is not exempt from having to face his own monstrous creations and those crafted by his father. In Iron Man, our protagonist is forced by strenuous circumstances to confront the truth about his own multibillionaire empire, but also the truth about himself. He has the chance to correct its course before it’s too late.

As the first entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man is a wonderful game-changer for the genre. It follows the journey of our main character with honesty and openness. Tony is, in many ways, a villain. Not because he has dark purposes in mind, but because his blissful ignorance has deadly consequences.

He’s also a bit of a jerk. And in the hands of a less capable actor he could easily become a very unlikable guy. Thankfully, Robert Downey Junior’s excellent characterization makes it impossible not to root for this annoyingly pampered and extremely conceited person.

The reason we can get invested in his path is because RDJ knows how to strip the layers off at the right time, exposing the character’s vulnerability with disarming honesty.

It’s also a powerful -and dangerous- choice to start your Cinematic Universe with a character that isn’t an all-round hero, especially when he’s involved in something as real as weapons of mass destruction and war profiteering. Coming out in the early 2000’s, with the War on Terror still fresh on our minds, this could have easily played against the movie.

Yet, ultimately, Tony chooses to become a hero despite having everything against him. More often than not, we follow characters that are either halfway on their path to greatness, or we are thrown into a story of someone who already recognizes himself/herself as a hero. We also have characters that don’t have as much to lose by deciding to do the right thing.

But in Iron Man, Tony makes a choice that could not only destroy his empire, but also put him at odds with the government and the people who are closer to him. And still, he chooses to do what he thinks is right.

Thus, Iron Man has presented one of the best antihero-to-hero stories that the genre has ever delivered. And it helps that the film, despite its humor, doesn’t shy away from moments of darkness.

The sequences in the desert are sometimes terrifying and nerve-wracking. We might not see as much blood as in Deadpool, and still, the attack on Tony’s transport is one of the most distressing sequences seen in any of these films.

Iron Man manages to find the perfect balance of humor, suspense and character development. It also manages to smartly set the ground for what’s to come without filling the entire film with references to it. It understands that what’s important is the story that is being told at that moment. A lesson that desperately needs to be understood by Cinematic Universes launched in recent years.

Where the movie falters is in developing its secondary characters. The unmistakable baddie can be seen from miles away, and the romantic interest focuses almost exclusively on the lead, seemingly devoid of a life of her own –although Pepper does have some great moments as well. It also feels a little too long at times, even if some of the longer sequences do serve a purpose. Nonetheless, they’re minor details that derive from putting a better focus on the main character.

Today, Iron Man continues to be one of the finest superhero movies we have ever seen, with great storytelling, wonderful performances by extremely talented actors, special effects that are more grounded than most, and daring choices on how to tell an origin story.

This is part of the Marvel Challenge: I’ll be watching 1 Marvel film each week in preparation for the release of Avengers: Infinity War.