Review of Iron Man (1951) by Oliver I — 24 Mar 2018

Strengths: The MCU began here and it started with a bang. First off, Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark) is absolutely perfect in the role. He seems born to play Iron Man, able to mix the brash moments with the more emotional real stuff of a man who is quite alone. His chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper) is one of the better parts of the movie and a key reason why she's so welcome in most MCU flicks. Jon Favreau did very well in the director's chair. Jeff Bridges (Obadiah) is great with what he's given, though it's not a ton. The action scenes are well done, the music choices were incredibly fitting, and the dialogue was snappy. It comes across as the kind of movie that could appeal to everyone, even non-comic fans.

Weaknesses: Terrence Howard (James Rhodes) is pretty awful in almost every scene. He lacks any sort of chemistry with his fellow actors and lacks anything even remotely close to emotion. You can see why the role was recast. As good as Bridges was, it was clear that the villain was underdeveloped. I get that it could be hard to do in an origin story, but he definitely needed more. The third act of the film is also kind of lackluster. The first two are great, but the final fight is kind of generic and leaves a lot to be desired.

Overall: The MCU got off to a great start. Iron Man delivers as a cool superhero movie with some standout performances. With a better third act and a more developed villain, it would've been a classic. Still, it remains one of the stronger entries in the MCU, if only for Downey's incredible performance.