Review of Iron Man (2008) by Mrmoviebuff — 27 May 2015

This is where the Marvel Cinematic Universe began, and possibly the benchmark for comic book movies in general. Before there was 'Captain America: The First Avenger' (2011), before there was even 'The Avengers' (2012), there was 'Iron Man'.

Robert Downey Jr. makes a comeback for his career as Tony Stark, an eccentric businessman who gets kidnapped and builds a robotic, weapon suit and manages to escape. Gwyneth Paltrow is Pepper Potts, Tony's assistant throughout the entire film.

Jon Favreau, best known as Pete Becker from 'Friends' (Monica's rich boyfriend), and directing 'Elf' (2003) directs this movie with confidence and sure-handedness. 'Transformers' (2007) was released the year before, and I complained that the action scenes, while dazzling, were a bit of a technological mess. Here, you know it's strange when a comedy actor/director can craft a better action movie than Michael Bay, a filmmaker from day one and has directed many action films in his career, but hasn't won the respect of any film critic or audience member.

Jeff Bridges plays Obidiah Stane, the main villain of the film who wants Stark's technology and will do anything to get it.

'Iron Man' is a dazzling summer action blockbuster, full of the comedy charm we expect from Robert Downey Jr. and the action scenes are cleaner and less confusing than the ones in 'Transformers' (2007).

This movie, along with 'The Dark Knight' (2008) are two of the best comic book movies of 2008, and they have raised the bar for the genre. This is fun, and edgy. No other Marvel movie could be a better start to a fantastic universe.