Iron Man (4½ Stars)

Stan Lee said that this was his favourite cameo. It's a non-speaking role, only five seconds long, but there's something special about it. Tony Stark walks into a party and sees a man with his back to him that he greets with the words "You look great, Hef". When the man turns round we see that it's Stan. What the scene means is open to interpretation. Maybe it was Stan Lee himself, and Tony Stark mistook him for Hugh Hefner. Maybe Stan Lee was playing the part of Hugh Hefner. In a deleted scene (available on my Blu-ray disc) Tony apologises for his mistake, to which Stan replies "That's okay, I get this all the time". That would have removed the ambiguity. I believe the director removed this line of dialogue because he wanted to leave it open for the fans.

"Iron Man" is the film that kicked off the series of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films, way back in May 2008. It was a brilliant marketing strategy that other film franchises are jealous of. It was all building up to the Avengers. The team members were introduced one by one in a series of films, and finally they were placed together. The MCU films are built on continuity, which was the strength of the 1960's Marvel comics. The same actors played the same characters from film to film, with only two notable exceptions:

Edward Norton played the Hulk in his MCU solo film, but he was replaced by Mark Ruffalo in "The Avengers". Supposedly Norton didn't want to be tied to one character for years, but if he hadn't wanted that he should never have taken the role in the first place. It's also the fault of the producers for not making him sign a contract that specified a minimum number of films.

Terrence Howard played James Rhodes in "Iron Man", but he was replaced by Don Cheadle in the subsequent films. The reason for this is well documented. He was too greedy. He was the highest paid actor in "Iron Man" with a salary of $4.5 million. For "Iron Man 2" he was only offered one million dollars. The reason was that Robert Downey Jr was still a relatively unknown actor when the first film was made, but he became famous as Iron Man and could demand more money for the second film, so Howard's salary had to be reduced to stay within the budget. Terrence Howard walked out, meaning the studio had to scramble to find a replacement actor. He didn't reckon with the consequences of his actions. Before "Iron Man" he was being paid between one and two million dollars per film. After refusing to appear in "Iron Man 2" he was never offered more than $500,000 for films, and most offers were closer to $60,000. Within a few years he was earning so little that he had to accept parts in television series. I'm not saying he's a bad actor; he's a very good actor. To be honest, I'm surprised at the reaction. Hollywood is ruled by greed, so why was Terrence Howard picked out as the one to be punished?

"Iron Man" has a lot in its favour. Despite being moved from the 1960's to the present, the story is faithful to the comics. If you don't believe me, read Tales Of Suspense #39 (March 1963) for yourself. Tony Stark is the same millionaire playboy (maybe a billionaire, due to inflation). He's an erratic genius. The only real change in his personality is that in the comics he continued to manufacture weapons, whereas in the film he turns pacifist. That's a sign of the times. In the 1960's Americans like Stan Lee believed that peace could only be achieved by force. Today people are more naive and think that peace can be achieved by negotiation. I'm glad that Adolf Hitler isn't alive today, otherwise pacifist leaders would be negotiating non-stop while he marched across Europe.

I don't consider Robert Downey Jr to be a good actor, but he was born to play the role of Tony Stark. He's an actor who can only play himself, but this "himself" fits the role of Tony Stark perfectly. It's like he jumps out of the pages of the comics.

One character who seems to have been born by accident is SHIELD agent Phil Coulson, played by Clark Gregg. He never appeared in the comics. He was only introduced into the films as a minor character running errands for Nick Fury. I don't think that the producers realised how popular he was until the fans complained when he was killed in "The Avengers". He had to be brought back. He had to be given bigger roles. He was made the lead character in the MCU television series "Agents of SHIELD".

The music in "Iron Man" shouldn't be underestimated. Tony Stark is a rock music fan, and this is shown in the film's soundtrack. There's no namby-pamby rap or r&b. That's all that today's generation of weaklings can handle. Tony Stark is a strong, hard-hitting man, and he likes powerful music. The film starts with AC/DC and ends with Black Sabbath.

This film also introduces one of the most important features of the MCU films: the after-credits scenes. Almost all of the films have a scene after the credits, of varying length and importance. These scenes are intended as a hook to introduce following films. Mostly. "Iron Man" has an example of a good after-credits scene. Nick Fury speaks to Tony Stark about forming a group called the Avengers.

Success Rate:  + 2.2

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