Offers great entertainment value but the final act of the film destroys an otherwise great film

Rating: 7/10 (10 April 2013)

Often considered one of the best Marvel films and all round, one of the greatest superhero films alongside Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight, Iron Man is a much talked about film being released back in 2008. I myself have never seen Iron Man until just today and well.
The story to Iron Man is very similar to that of Batman Begins. The film starts off by fleshing out our main character through a series of flashbacks, which to my money, is the highlight of the film and easily, its strongest part. Through these flashbacks, billionaire owner of Stark Industries realizes that he has the potential to help the world and be a protector by building his own suit.
Is this story line familiar? Well, yeah! Despite an ordinary story line, the film is directed stylishly if one may say so. It does most certainly have some great moments and is visually impressive and offers some great entertainment. Structurally, very similar to Nolan's 2005 film, Batman Begins, Iron Man is a typical superhero flick that dwells deep into the character of Tony Stark during the first twenty minutes but soon falls apart in a certain way. Possibly matching the first half hour of Batman Begins, this film then really introduces us more to Stark's real personality. Despite losing some of the best moments, and losing any real desperation and emotion, Iron Man then plays along well by a great mix of humour and seriousness. Thankfully, the tone to the film is not upsetted nor unbalanced by two opposing tones.
The biggest strength to the film is easily the first twenty minutes but the final confrontation of the film is quite ridiculous, in my opinion. Best described as a goofy confrontation from say, 'Superman' and 'Superman II', the film truly falls apart in the final act from what may otherwise have been a truly phenomenal film that could match the superhero brilliance that the Dark Knight is.
Christopher Nolan's Batman films have something very strong about them and that is the villain in each film, who has a real goal that he strives for. Whilst Ra's Al Ghul challenged Bruce emotionally, the Joker did strategically and Bane did physically but the villain in this film, whose name I will not spoil, doesn't seem to have any real urge. Whilst the Joker recited "That's what happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force", the villain in this film recites extremely corny one liners and various lines similar to this, "Don't worry. I upgraded my suit!" This would work well in a Superman film, which knows itself as corny but here, in a movie that despite having humor, takes itself seriously, the final act cannot be taken seriously but more of a joke and thus, ruins that proportion of the film and brings it down to a good film, and only a good film.
Iron Man may be visually appealing and certain immersive early on but a weak final act and an extremely weak villain make this, still a fun and entertaining film, but a bit of a disappointment. That being said, it's a movie that is most definitely worth a watch for superhero fans and action lovers. I can only hope that Iron Man 3 improves upon these weaknesses.