Iron Man Still Feels Like the Film That Made the MCU Possible
Countdown To Doomsday
The setup
Tony Stark is forced to rethink the weapons empire he built after being captured and injured, leading him to create the Iron Man armour and take responsibility for what his company has become.
Iron Man still works because it never feels like it is desperately trying to start a giant franchise. It is just focused on making Tony Stark interesting.
Robert Downey Jr carries the whole thing with this mix of arrogance, humour and just enough vulnerability to stop Tony becoming unbearable.
The cave escape is still brilliant, the first proper suit up feels like a blockbuster moment, and having gone through the struggle with Tony beforehand makes it feel so satisfying.
The main villain Obadiah Stane does some sick things to Tony throughout the movie, the scene where he removes his artificial heart is still hard to watch even now.
The final villain fight is pretty standard, but everything before that has so much confidence that it barely matters and in MCU fashion, they do make good on some loose ends left by the Iron Monger in the Iron Heart TV show which is fun on reflection.
Positives
Downey Jr is perfect as Tony, the armour development is great, sharp humour, strong origin story.
Negatives
The final fight is the weakest part, Obadiah becomes a fairly basic villain by the end.
Verdict
The MCU got huge later, but Iron Man still works best because it feels like a proper film first and a franchise launch second.
