After discovering that a friend hadn’t watched Iron Man before (honestly, how can you be my friend if you haven’t watched it before?), another friend organised a watch party for this. So we sat down, and I realised – I haven’t seen Iron Man since it came out in 2008. Sure, I’ve seen the famous GIFs and memes and short clips – but the whole movie in its entirety? No.
And to be honest, I was a little afraid. I’ve seen movies that didn’t age well. I’ve seen television series that didn’t age well (particularly, a sitcom about a group of six friends). And Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies are so CGI heavy… how would it look, years later?
To my surprise, it held up well. Very well. Apart from certain stylistic elements, this could be a movie released in 2024 and it’d still be comparable to other films released this year.
So here’s my retrospective review of Iron Man – after my second viewing of it.
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Synopsis
Iron Man is a superhero action movie that’s the first instalment in the MCU. It centres around a billionaire engineer who discovers that the weapons he’s been manufacturing have fallen into the wrong hands. Determined to right wrongs, he builds a suit of armour to avenge those who fallen prey to his misused weapons. But I’m sure you already knew that.
Director: Jon Favreau
Writers: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway
Cast:
- Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man/Tony Stark)
- Terrence Howard (James “Rhodey” Rhodes)
- Jeff Bridges (Iron Monger/Obadiah Stane)
- Gwyneth Paltrow (Virginia “Pepper” Potts)
- Leslie Bibb (Christine Everhart)
- Shaun Toub (Ho Yinsen)
- Paul Bettany (voice of J.A.R.V.I.S.)
- Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson)
- Jon Favreau (Harold “Happy” Hogan)
- Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury)
- Stan Lee (as himself)
Running time: 126 minutes
Themes are surprisingly relevant, even today
Back when Iron Man first came out, the world lived in fear of terrorists and the possibility of a world war. Fast forward to a decade and a half later – and we’re still living in that fear. The exact parties whom we fear have changed, but that fear hasn’t. War still exists, war never changes, and war always has its victims. If there’s one thing. that Iron Man does well, it’s to humanise the victims of war.
And that theme, that message – that’s ultimately what has kept it feeling relevant, even today. That’s why it’s held up all these years, because it taps into the fundamental truth of humanity since the dawn of time. An escalating arms race in a bid to feel safe, heedless of the cost of human lives by said arms.
Practical effects and pyrotechnics still look good, even by today’s standards
One thing that Iron Man utilised a lot of was practical effects. The Iron Monger armour for one, as well as Iron Man’s own suits. That’s not to say that CGI wasn’t used – it’s apparent when it was used, and it’s also clear why it had to be used (for now, flying armour is probably not a practical possibility). But the steadfast adherence to using live pyrotechnics (instead of adding explosions in post) – maybe the blasts weren’t as big as they could have been, but they felt real then, and they feel real now.
Knows its place as a comic book movie
Iron Man knew its place as a comic book movie. While it told a good story, with action and a redemption arc – it also threw in so many Easter eggs for fans. From Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) many scenes with alcohol to Rhodey’s (Terrence Howard) sly nod to a suit of armour – it knew. It knew what comic book fans would pick up on. Even Christine (Leslie Bibb) is a character from the comics – not really an Iron Man character, but still one that has its roots in the comics. For that, for knowing its audience, for knowing that the fans would appreciate it – I truly respect how much dedication Iron Man had to serving its comic book audience.
And I say this because before Iron Man, there were several other less-than-stellar comic book shows that pretended not to be comic book shows. There were only adaptations in name only, creating new characters whole cloth (when existing characters could have served the role well), butchering the characters to the point of unrecognisability. And of course, I was scared that this would happen. But it didn’t.
Subtle score
One thing I noticed was that back then, the music was relatively more subtle. Sure, it used a rock track – but the budget didn’t quite go into getting a famous pop song to accompany the movie, or grand operatic scores (compared to the MCU films of today). It supported the action. It supported the dialogue. It supported the movie – without taking centre stage. And because of that, it allowed the movie to shine the way it did.
Made me miss standalone films in the MCU
When Iron Man came out, there was no MCU (yet). It was shot and produced as a standalone film, with a post credits scene if the MCU was ever birthed. The story was self-contained, without requiring you to watch several other movies and television series to truly understand the whole story. I miss that. I miss the days when each film told a good story by itself. I miss the days when watching movies would enrich your understanding of the plot, rather than being vital to its understanding.
Iron Man told a complete story, without you having to have any other contextual knowledge – because it had to. I miss that.
Conclusion
I remember when I first watched Iron Man in cinemas. There was so much cheering. From when Rhodey nodded at the armour, foreshadowing him becoming War Machine – to Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) appearing in the post credits scene. This is where it all began. This is where we got our MCU. This is where Iron Man became a household name. But when it was made, it was just a standalone movie, with some teasers thrown in for a possible shared universe. The MCU owes so much to this film.
I’m glad I watched it again.
Score: 7.5/10
Iron Man is available on Disney+.
This is an original article on marcusgohmarcusgoh.com.
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