Hello everyone and welcome to Marvel MCU kickoff month! As anyone interested in pop-culture may know, Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame premieres on April 26th, 2019. In anticipation for this theatrical release, I have decided to post nearly everyday in the month of April reviewing the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films in theatrical release order. In April 2018 I did watch each MCU film chronologically before Infinity War was released, which I do recommend if you have not done so and want a different perspective on the cinematic universe.
To start off this journey into the MCU, I watched Iron Man (2008) this evening. This movie runs for 126 minutes, is rated PG-13, and was released on May 2nd, 2008.
Scroll down below to read my synopsis, review, and ranking. I will also be letting you know if each movie in the MCU is necessary for rewatch leading up to Endgame. Be warned, spoilers are ahead!
“Nick Fury. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.”
– Iron Man (2008)
Recap:
This movie is the first in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and tells the origin story of Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man. Billionaire and technology genius, Stark is a defense contractor who inherited his father’s, Howard Stark, corporation. Stark is showing off the new Jericho missile in Afghanistan when his convoy is attacked and he is taken captive by the terrorist organization The Ten Rings. Stark is wounded with shrapnel and is saved by another hostage, a doctor named Yinsen. Tony is told by the terrorist leader that if he builds them a Jericho missile he will be released. Tony and Yinsen instead build prototype armored suit and plan their escape. Many bullets, explosions, and a rocking heavy metal soundtrack later, Yinsen has scarified his life for Tony to escape and he is brought home to the US.
The second third of the movie focuses on business dealings and Tony building and testing Iron Man suits. He announces at a press conference that his company will no longer manufacture and sell weapons, which brings conflict with Obadiah Stane, his father’s old partner and current company manager. Tony also bickers with his assistant, Pepper Potts, and generally has some comedic moments during this portion of the film.
In the final third of the film, Stark saves a small village in the Middle East from the Ten Rings and learns that Stane is selling weapons to the terrorist organization in secret. Stane gets the prototype suit that Tony originally escaped using and begins to build his own version. Stark sends Pepper to get information on the side dealings from the company headquarters, where she narrowly escapes Stane’s wrath with one Agent Coulson from the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D, who has been trying throughout the film to gain a meeting with Stark.
Pepper discovers that Stane put out the hit on Tony and was working with the terrorists the entire time. As she calls Tony to give him this revelation, Stane has already attacked him, stealing his chest arc reactor, the technology keeping him alive. Pepper sends Tony’s best friend, Colonel James Rhodes, to his mansion, who finds him nearly dead and helps save the day. Stark flies off in an earlier model of his suit and battles Stane, eventually killing him with the help of Pepper. At a final press conference, Tony announces to the world, “I am Iron Man.”
The end credit scene introduces Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He speaks with Stark and the film ends on, “I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative.”
My Thoughts:
Going into this film, I was pretty bored and uninterested to be completely honest. I’ve never really been a fan of the Iron Man standalone films, much preferring to see Stark work in a team setting. However, this rewatch made me remember why this film is such an important piece of MCU history. It put superhero movies back on the map and has an amazing cast at its helm. Robert Downey Jr is Tony Stark and embodies the character perfectly, flaws and all. As I may have mentioned in the recap, the second third of the film drags in my opinion but it important to set up the villain’s reveal, as well as explain how Tony Stark becomes Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow kills it as Pepper Potts, the faithful but annoyed sidekick to Stark. This movie also features Terrance Howard as Rhodes, however this is the only MCU film he appears in, as later Rhodes is recast with Don Cheadle. Howard isn’t bad in his portrayal and I do wonder what the franchise looks like with him continuing on in the role, but Cheadle does do great playing off of RDJ in the later films.
Why Is This Important?
Iron Man is important because it kicked off the MCU, without Iron Man you would never have gotten Infinity War or Endgame. This movie also brought back interest into the superhero genre; prior to this only the X Men films were popular, and even those swung from good to bad in popularity.
Iron Man also sets up the character of Tony Stark, who has now appeared in nine of the Marvel films as of 2019. The character arc of Tony Stark has been developed over all these films, and is a journey fans have been on since 2008. The MCU would not be were it is today without the first Iron Man film.
Is This Important For Endgame?
While I doubt any of the villains are going to make a miraculous comeback for Endgame, I would say yes, this is important. From trailers, we see that Iron Man may be coming to his end as of the Endgame film. I think it’s important for moviegoers to see where the character began before we see his potential end. For the characterization alone, I would say yes, watch this movie before seeing Endgame.
Rating:
I will be rating each movie as I watch them, in order. Since Iron Man is the first MCU theatrical release, the film sits at:
- Iron Man
Tune in tomorrow for my thoughts on the next MCU film. I will be watching The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton.
Jen Pereira 