It seems strange to me how recently Iron Man has become heralded by many as a classic of the genre.
It was a reasonably fun film at the time but other than kickstarting the MCU there was nothing in and of itself that was in any way groundbreaking. What makes it is Robert Downey Jr's persona. A watered down version of the persona he'd just cultivated a year or two earlier in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. A far more distinctive film that is easily more deserving of classic status.
Considering the comic book movies that were being released at the time, Iron Man felt like a big step back. Back then we were being blessed frequently with comic book films made by interesting directors that each brought something new to their work and gave their subject some depth. Sam Raimi's Spiderman films, Batman Begins, Sin City, X-Men 1 and 2, Hellboy, even The Dark Knight was released the same summer.
Take Downey Jr out of the equation and you'd be left with a conventional, run of the mill narrative accompanied by a bland directorial style and 3 action scenes that last about 3 seconds long (Ok, Stark breaking out of the cave in the old fashioned suit was pretty damn cool).
The film has nothing to say, no depth, doesn't explore any interesting issues and, with the exception of the post credits Nick Fury cameo to signal what's to come, does nothing new.
Maybe there is some kind of inner depth, subtext or element it brings to the table that I simply missed. And if so I'd be interested in hearing it. But all I can see is a film that's a bit of fun. And there are thousands of films that have been released over the years that are a bit of fun and have not been hailed as classics. I even see it in lists above the likes of Spiderman sometimes! The influential film that initially demonstrated how comic books were supposed to be adapted.
The only reason I can fathom is that because it led to a whole extended universe people look back on it with rose tinted glasses.
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actionkamen (23176)
6 years ago
I agree with all of your points. In fact, when I was watching this in theater I felt the Iron Man vs jetfighters scene was unimportant and tacked on.
That said, I respect this movie more now because it brought something new. After all this time the only superhero movies we get is just Hulk, Batman, Superman, Wolverine and Spider-Man. Most people knew already those characters, their stories.
Iron Man, unlike Watchmen, succesfully brought obscure characters into the mainstream. That's a big deal. They succeed when others have failed.
This opened ways for other B-grade characters like Thor, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, etc. It's how they make an unknown character story appealing to a wider audience is actually a breakthrough. Even today, other filmmakers are still struggling to do what Iron Man did.
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