The early exploits of Iron Man in a great, great movie

Rating: 10/10 (31 May 2015)

Weapon mogul Tony Stark is thrown off his ivory tower when he gets badly injured while kidnapped by a terrorist group and MacGyvers his way to health, freedom and a career in superheroics. Uh, it's Iron Man. Why should we care? Well, mostly because this movie takes a second banana (or, if you prefer, neglected) Marvel character, brings it to the spotlight... and the result is greatness! Iron Man has never been so popular as, let's say, Spider-Man or Wolverine... till now. The reason is, of course, casting. Simply put, Robert Downey, Jr. is Iron Man. Period. Downey brings a quirkiness to the character that exudes humanity. Stark is egotistical, full of defects but decent enough to care about what really matters. When the aforementioned terrorists go genocidal on a small village, he rises to the occasion and rescues the villagers. Of course there's a villain, in this case it is the Dude himself, Jeff Bridges, but we do not care much, because in this movie the main villain is Tony Stark. And the hero, too. Tony Stark has to best himself to become a real hero. That is why his final statement is so important. When he declares to the world, 'I am Iron Man', we get to know who finally won.