Iron Man (Jon Farveau, 2008)

Tony Stark makes you feel that he’s a cool exec with a heart of steel. However, he’s really a wounded loner who hides his hurt with booze, broads, and banter. Luckily, Jon Favreau’s Iron Man isn’t a pathos-filled whine fest about a misunderstood multimillionaire. Instead it strikes a fine balance between defining Tony Stark and providing a wild comic book movie.

Casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is genius. The actor has the dark good looks, sure, but he’s also got a history of substance abuse that telegraphs into his role. The tone of Iron Man manages to be consistent despite its four screenwriters, thanks to the free reign Farveau gave the cast. He encouraged them to ad-lib, and Downey manages to make relatively staid scenes a hoot through inspired quips.

As with all initial outings of comic-based characters, Iron Man is an origin story. The difference between him and his Marvel brethren is that Iron Man is a self-made superhero. Like Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark channels his pain into fighting crime after a life-changing experience. Here Stark is captured by a terrorist organization who demands that he build them a missile system. Instead, he forges a super suit that allows him to escape and provides inspiration for his new life’s work, which is forgoing weapons systems for helping mankind. The rest of the film gives Stark the opportunity to see who, if anyone, his real friends are. It also lets the audience in on the fun, since we can check out Iron Man fighting and smiting with repulsor rays. — Mike White

Tags: Iron Man, Robert Downey, Jr., Tony Stark, Jon Favreau, Bruce Wayne