"Iron Man" (2008)
Can you believe that it has been almost 8 years since Marvel Studios began it's trek to total box office domination? 2008 was a different time. The George W. Bush presidency was winding down and we were just starting to believe we could, we still thought the recession was something that happened in the '80's and Michael Phelps was getting ready to dominate the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The box office was also a different place in 2008. Super hero movies weren't the guaranteed cash cow that they are now. Audiences were still feeling the sting of critical flops like "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "Spider-Man 3." Studios weren't willing to take the risk of banking their hard earned on money on lesser known heroes, especially since "Batman Begins" only made $48 million in it's opening weekend. If people weren't willing to show up in droves for a name hero like the Dark Knight, was there any chance they would show up for a hero that the majority of the non-comic book reading world had never heard of?
Thankfully, Marvel did and because of their belief and savvy casting choices they just released the trailer for their thirteenth film, "Captain America: Civil War," whose second trailer has racked up over 30 million views in two days. With the start of Phase Three looming on the horizon, I thought that now was the perfect time to re-watch and reflect on the films that came before starting with the original Marvel movie: "Iron Man."
A lot of things factored in to the success of the original "Iron Man." The main thing was the casting of Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark. In 2016, casting Downey, Jr. may seem like a no-brainer, but in 2008, Marvel was taking bit of a risk. Downey, Jr had publicly battled addiction for many years and although clean and sober since 2001, he had focused on smaller projects like "Good Night and Good Luck," "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "A Scanner Darkly" rather than larger blockbusters. When it was announced that Downey, Jr was cast director Jon Favreau was quoted as saying, "Downey wasn't the most obvious choice, but he understood what makes the character tick. He found a lot of his own life experiences in Tony Stark."
Knowing what we know now, it's hard to imagine that anyone would ever question that Downey, Jr wasn't the most obvious choice to play Tony Stark or that "Iron Man" wasn't the most obvious character to try to launch Marvel's connected movie universe, but in 2008 lots of people were skeptical including myself. I never doubted that Downey, Jr. had what it took to play Tony Stark. I did wonder why Marvel went with Iron Man rather than say Captain America. I felt like the general populace had more knowledge of the Star-Spangled Avenger than they did Iron Man. Thankfully, I wasn't making those decisions.
Marvel rounded out the cast with Gwyneth Paltrow as Tony's right hand woman, Pepper Potts, Jeff Bridges as Stark Enterprises second-in-conmand Obadiah Stane and Terrence Howard as James "Rhodey" Rhodes. "Iron Man" was released on May 2, 2008.
Right out of the gate I should admit that I'm not a huge fan of origin stories. It's probably because I already know the origin of most comic book characters so it's annoying to have to hash that out when I just want to get into the main conflict. I recognize that is not feasible when you are trying to introduce a character to the masses and as far as origin stories go the one set forth in "Iron Man" is very engaging. There were only a couple of tweaks that needed to be made for modern audiences. When Iron Man was initially introduced in 1968, he was kidnapped by China. In the film, Tony and the military convoy he is traveling with are ambushed in Afghanistan. This is a great example of why this was the character to launch the MCU. In 2008, we had been at war for 7 years and people were over it, to put it mildly. Here comes Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy, who while charismatic, is basically a war profiteer, designing weapons for the military, making tons of money and hoping that this conflict continues forever so he can keep making weapons and keep making money.
After the attack, Tony is injured leading to the creation of the arc reactor in his chest, his first suit to escape and the creation of the more advanced Iron Man suit. It was fun to re-watch "Iron Man" and try to remember how I felt the first time I saw it in the theater. That rush. I think I was maybe grinning the entire time. There are so many small things that are sprinkled throughout the film. Almost from the beginning there are Easter eggs for die hard Marvel fans. The name of the group holding Tony hostage is The Ten Rings, a reference to Iron Man's most famous villain, The Mandarin, who we won't meet until "Iron Man 3."
It's also great to watch the introduction of a character that will become so beloved to so many fans of the MCU. I'm of course talking about Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D. for short) agent, Phil Coulson. From his first interactions with Pepper to the moments before the press conference that wraps the movie, it's easy to see why Coulson became so beloved that his death was the emotional centerpiece of the first "Avengers" film. Clark Gregg plays Coulson in a way that is disarming and charming while still having this air of mystery and danger underneath all that.
"Iron Man" also introduced us to the post-credits scene. Do you ever remember sitting through the credits of a movie before? I don't and that scene does not disappoint. When Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury stepped out of the shadows and said the words "Avengers Initiative" I'm pretty sure I squealed and maybe peed a little and the crazy thing is, even all these years and movies later, I still get a little rush every time.
"Iron Man" is a great film, but there are some not great things. Those things are heightened after watching so many Marvel movies where there are still some of the same flaws. This is the first movie, so Stane being a lame villain is somewhat forgivable. I understand why they would make Iron Monger the first bad guy Iron Man goes to toe to toe with. They each have armor so they can really unleash on each other and that final showdown is pretty exciting to watch. He's just not super memorable. I'm sure you remember the fight, but I doubt anyone outside of Marvel diehards can remember the name of the villain, which is not great. A hero is only as good as his antagonist and unfortunately we'll have to wait until "Iron Man 3" before Tony actually goes up against someone really worthy in his solo films.
How miscast was Terrence Howard? His sleepy, laid back performance was meh and I'm glad that Don Cheadle took over after this film. You don't realize how barely OK Howard does until you re-watch this film after Cheadle really owning the character in the future films.
These are just minor gripes in a film that does almost everything else right. It sets up the future installments in the universe without neglecting it's core character. Something that "Iron Man 2" fails at pretty spectacularly, but we'll get to that later. Also, Downey Jr, so embodies the character of Tony Stark/Iron Man, it's hard to see anyone else playing him. Which is why Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, recently said that since there are no immediate plans for a fourth Iron Man film, they don't see any re-casting. If Downey Jr. decides to step away from the character after Infinity War, they will probably rest the character for the foreseeable future. Take that Batman.
What do you guys remember about watching "Iron Man" for the first time? Anything that jumps out at you more now than it did then? Let me know in the comments and watch out for my next Marvel re-watch: "The Incredible Hulk."
Thankfully, Marvel did and because of their belief and savvy casting choices they just released the trailer for their thirteenth film, "Captain America: Civil War," whose second trailer has racked up over 30 million views in two days. With the start of Phase Three looming on the horizon, I thought that now was the perfect time to re-watch and reflect on the films that came before starting with the original Marvel movie: "Iron Man."
A lot of things factored in to the success of the original "Iron Man." The main thing was the casting of Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark. In 2016, casting Downey, Jr. may seem like a no-brainer, but in 2008, Marvel was taking bit of a risk. Downey, Jr had publicly battled addiction for many years and although clean and sober since 2001, he had focused on smaller projects like "Good Night and Good Luck," "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "A Scanner Darkly" rather than larger blockbusters. When it was announced that Downey, Jr was cast director Jon Favreau was quoted as saying, "Downey wasn't the most obvious choice, but he understood what makes the character tick. He found a lot of his own life experiences in Tony Stark."
Knowing what we know now, it's hard to imagine that anyone would ever question that Downey, Jr wasn't the most obvious choice to play Tony Stark or that "Iron Man" wasn't the most obvious character to try to launch Marvel's connected movie universe, but in 2008 lots of people were skeptical including myself. I never doubted that Downey, Jr. had what it took to play Tony Stark. I did wonder why Marvel went with Iron Man rather than say Captain America. I felt like the general populace had more knowledge of the Star-Spangled Avenger than they did Iron Man. Thankfully, I wasn't making those decisions.
Marvel rounded out the cast with Gwyneth Paltrow as Tony's right hand woman, Pepper Potts, Jeff Bridges as Stark Enterprises second-in-conmand Obadiah Stane and Terrence Howard as James "Rhodey" Rhodes. "Iron Man" was released on May 2, 2008.
Right out of the gate I should admit that I'm not a huge fan of origin stories. It's probably because I already know the origin of most comic book characters so it's annoying to have to hash that out when I just want to get into the main conflict. I recognize that is not feasible when you are trying to introduce a character to the masses and as far as origin stories go the one set forth in "Iron Man" is very engaging. There were only a couple of tweaks that needed to be made for modern audiences. When Iron Man was initially introduced in 1968, he was kidnapped by China. In the film, Tony and the military convoy he is traveling with are ambushed in Afghanistan. This is a great example of why this was the character to launch the MCU. In 2008, we had been at war for 7 years and people were over it, to put it mildly. Here comes Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy, who while charismatic, is basically a war profiteer, designing weapons for the military, making tons of money and hoping that this conflict continues forever so he can keep making weapons and keep making money.
After the attack, Tony is injured leading to the creation of the arc reactor in his chest, his first suit to escape and the creation of the more advanced Iron Man suit. It was fun to re-watch "Iron Man" and try to remember how I felt the first time I saw it in the theater. That rush. I think I was maybe grinning the entire time. There are so many small things that are sprinkled throughout the film. Almost from the beginning there are Easter eggs for die hard Marvel fans. The name of the group holding Tony hostage is The Ten Rings, a reference to Iron Man's most famous villain, The Mandarin, who we won't meet until "Iron Man 3."
It's also great to watch the introduction of a character that will become so beloved to so many fans of the MCU. I'm of course talking about Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D. for short) agent, Phil Coulson. From his first interactions with Pepper to the moments before the press conference that wraps the movie, it's easy to see why Coulson became so beloved that his death was the emotional centerpiece of the first "Avengers" film. Clark Gregg plays Coulson in a way that is disarming and charming while still having this air of mystery and danger underneath all that.
"Iron Man" also introduced us to the post-credits scene. Do you ever remember sitting through the credits of a movie before? I don't and that scene does not disappoint. When Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury stepped out of the shadows and said the words "Avengers Initiative" I'm pretty sure I squealed and maybe peed a little and the crazy thing is, even all these years and movies later, I still get a little rush every time.
"Iron Man" is a great film, but there are some not great things. Those things are heightened after watching so many Marvel movies where there are still some of the same flaws. This is the first movie, so Stane being a lame villain is somewhat forgivable. I understand why they would make Iron Monger the first bad guy Iron Man goes to toe to toe with. They each have armor so they can really unleash on each other and that final showdown is pretty exciting to watch. He's just not super memorable. I'm sure you remember the fight, but I doubt anyone outside of Marvel diehards can remember the name of the villain, which is not great. A hero is only as good as his antagonist and unfortunately we'll have to wait until "Iron Man 3" before Tony actually goes up against someone really worthy in his solo films.
How miscast was Terrence Howard? His sleepy, laid back performance was meh and I'm glad that Don Cheadle took over after this film. You don't realize how barely OK Howard does until you re-watch this film after Cheadle really owning the character in the future films.
These are just minor gripes in a film that does almost everything else right. It sets up the future installments in the universe without neglecting it's core character. Something that "Iron Man 2" fails at pretty spectacularly, but we'll get to that later. Also, Downey Jr, so embodies the character of Tony Stark/Iron Man, it's hard to see anyone else playing him. Which is why Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, recently said that since there are no immediate plans for a fourth Iron Man film, they don't see any re-casting. If Downey Jr. decides to step away from the character after Infinity War, they will probably rest the character for the foreseeable future. Take that Batman.
What do you guys remember about watching "Iron Man" for the first time? Anything that jumps out at you more now than it did then? Let me know in the comments and watch out for my next Marvel re-watch: "The Incredible Hulk."
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