Review of Iron Man (1951) by Richard D — 11 Oct 2018

The film that kicked off the whole MCU is really a solid little superhero film. What it does right is build it's story on a really solid character foundation, and then cast the most important parts very well.

Unlike a lot of superhero films, Tony Stark is a more interesting character than his Iron Man persona, and Robert Downey, Jr. is perfect casting. Jeff Bridges is a villain that comes from a very comprehensible place and is executing on a plan that is clearly tied to his goals.

It's a bit tiresome that his final form is just as a bigger, badder Iron Man, but it's not a huge flaw. I'm less convinced by Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow, but there's enough good here to outweigh some weaknesses.

Paul Bettany is so good as Jarvis that it's a shame that he's eventually destined to become the far less appealing Vision. However, the best character in the entire film is Fire Extinguisher Robot .

.. I wish he had his own film.