Find the Man in the Iron

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 2013)

Back in 2008 when Iron Man was the insane box-office smash, truthfully never bothered to see it in theaters. I had no interest in the film, no matter how positively the reviews read. It was released on DVD at the beginning of Autumn, I did rent it to see if I would fall under the spell of Iron Man...I didn't. I thought it was neat, but my heart wasn't in perpetuated with it. I was astonished that people compared it to the Christopher Nolan masterpiece,The Dark Knight, released that same year. When Iron Man 2 was released, the same situation occurred (almost like deja vu), where I rented it, didn't care for it (though I did take interest in the stunningly beautiful Pepper Potts). Fast-forward to 2013, days after of the Iron Man 3 release. Gwyneth Paltrow had become my celebrity obsession, Iron Man 3 was denting box-office, and reviews were pouring in claiming part 3 outgrew its predecessor. I saw it twice in theaters, enjoyed it, but found the entire experience to be polarizing. After living my infatuation with Gwyneth Paltrow for months, I decided to revisit the films and found my opinions to have morphed into new thoughts.
IRON MAN (2008)
I'm not a fan of superhero-origin stories, but with the original Iron Man, I never felt like the filmmakers woke up and said "Let's Make a Superhero movie!" What the film implies the director and stars felt like when they started each day of filming is "Let's make the best movie we can make." Iron Man doesn't meander in scenes that are purely self-serving to remind everyone we're watching a superhero movie. Though it has its comic-booky undertones, Iron Man instead is an impacting, polished, and enthralling film about a man who finds redemption in an unconventional way. It's not about the "superhero", it's about the process of becoming a hero. It's enjoyable spectacle, but also has a lot to offer its genre intellectually and creatively. Iron Man fits together as tightly as Gwyneth Paltrow's calves and is as clever as Downey's comebacks. While never feeling established as a genre picture, it fulfills every expectation you could have going in.
Rating: 8/10
Grade: A-
I couldn't discuss the Iron Man films without paying respect to the comparison between this series and Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight series. I find the original Iron Man to introduce the story and develop it's characters better, even if it may lack the craftsmanship of Batman Begins. Nolan got the more impressive sequels, however. Contrast.
Anyone can tell you that Robert Downey Jr.'s screen presence is what guided the series to the popularity levels it reached. Downey's effortless charm is so believable, it makes you wonder if he's really putting forth the effort in his acting or if he's playing an exaggerated version of himself. He has superlative chemistry with his co-star Gwyneth Paltrow and together, they are the pillars that ground the series. Both actors excel in the entire trilogy making the acting the most dependable aspect in the series. "I watched the Iron Man movies to see Gwyneth Paltrow" said no one in history other than Ryan C. Showers.
Even with two sequels that didn't live up to the standard set with the shining original film, it's a movie series that is a fun ride. Tony Stark is just as an amusing character as you will find in the action hero category today. The special effects are always worthy of our attention and the actors pull together something that may have been ambiguous on the page. Iron Man, Iron Man 2, and Iron Man 3 are blockbusters with a little more than you could hope for.