Iron Man (2008)

Director:

Jon Favreau

Writers (WGA):

Mark Fergus (screenplay) &
Hawk Ostby (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 May 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

This Summer: Heroes Aren't Born, They're Built.

Plot:

When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil.

Plot Keywords:

Weapon | Missile | Armor | Afghanistan | Playboy

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 42 nominations

Cast

Robert Downey Jr.	...	Tony Stark
Terrence Howard	...	Rhodey
Jeff Bridges	...	Obadiah Stane
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Pepper Potts
Leslie Bibb	...	Christine Everhart
Shaun Toub	...	Yinsen
Faran Tahir	...	Raza
Clark Gregg	...	Agent Coulson
Bill Smitrovich	...	General Gabriel
Sayed Badreya	...	Abu Bakaar
Paul Bettany	...	Jarvis (voice)
Jon Favreau	...	Hogan
Peter Billingsley	...	William Ginter Riva
Tim Guinee	...	Major Allen
Will Lyman	...	Award Ceremony Narrator (voice)

Also Known As:

Ironman (International: English title) (alternative spelling) (USA) (poster title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Persian | Urdu | Hindi

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Ireland:12A | Australia:M | UK:12A | Finland:K-13 | Netherlands:12 | Iceland:12 | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:G (Québec) | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Hong Kong:IIA | Norway:11 | Malaysia:U | Sweden:11 | New Zealand:M | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/12 | Italy:T | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44328) | France:U | Peru:PT | Greece:K | Taiwan:PG-12 | Germany:12 (cut) (theatrical) | Germany:12 (uncut) (video) | South Africa:10V | Austria:12

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The terrorist group is called The Ten Rings, an obvious homage to villain The Mandarin, as he wears ten rings that each possess various powers. Jon Favreau has stated that The Ten Rings, in fact, works for The Mandarin.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Tony states that calculations "always are [correct]". Yet twice in the film (when he first tests the boots and gauntlets) he drastically underestimates their force.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Tony Stark: I feel like you're driving me to court martial. This is crazy. What did I do? I feel like you're gonna pull over and snuff me. What, you're not allowed to talk? Hey, Forest...
Jimmy: We can talk, sir.
Tony Stark: Oh, I see. So it's personal.
Ramirez: No, you intimidate them.
Tony Stark: Good God, you're a woman! I honestly, I couldn't have called that. I mean, I would apologize, but isn't that what we're going for here? I thought of you as a soldier first.
Ramirez: I'm an airman.
Tony Stark: Well you have actually excellent bone structure there. I'm kinda having a hard time not looking at you now. Is that weird?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-05-21)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Slept on Tony with Dirt

Solid script and Robert Downey Jr. make "Iron Man" a hit

The first big blockbuster of 2008, "Iron Man" is flat-out fun. One of the biggest surprises for many people is that this fun does not come from the action scenes (they're fine, by the way). What really amazes in "Iron Man" is a tour de force from Robert Downey Jr. (they could've named it Downey Junior- The Movie) and a solid script, that efficiently introduces us to the Iron Man history and proves to be a fascinating entry in a possible new franchise.

The movie tells the story of Tony Stark, an inventor and a playboy that is captured by terrorists and forced to create WMDs. While on captivity, he creates a powerful armor and manages to escape. Returning to America, he begins a new life as superhero Iron Man.

Another interesting aspect of "Iron Man" is that it is the first comic book based movie to openly discuss the 9/11 trauma. After all, we start off with terrorists as the bad guys. Its script has a strong political aspect to it, and it's one of the things that manage to keep the audience's attention. It's still an action flick, but that doesn't mean it can't have some content. The characters are good, but they ultimately are overshadowed by Downey Jr.'s performance. Hilarious and heroic, his Tony Stark is the ultimate Marvel action hero. Tough luck, Spiderman.

"Iron Man" is an action blockbuster for a mature audience. There will be more adults interested in the story than teenagers. After all, it is a political adventure. The movie hits and misses, but it still adds up for solid entertainment and lots of popcorn fun.