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Iron Man

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Iron Man (2008)

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Reviews Counted:38

Fresh:35

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.6/10

Consensus: Director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey make this smart, high impact superhero movie one that even non-comics fans can enjoy.

Australian Rating: TBC

Runtime: 2 hrs 42 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Australian Theatrical Release:
May 1, 2008 Wide

US Box Office: $318,298,180

Synopsis: For both comic book fans and those who can't tell the Green Lantern from the Green Arrow, IRON MAN is the type of summer blockbuster whose appeal lasts far beyond the season. Robert Downey Jr.... For both comic book fans and those who can't tell the Green Lantern from the Green Arrow, IRON MAN is the type of summer blockbuster whose appeal lasts far beyond the season. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark, a billionaire playboy and genius who puts as much effort into chasing skirts as he puts into chasing his next big idea. A trip to Afghanistan to sell weapons quickly devolves into chaos, and Stark finds himself at the mercy of a warlord who wants him to build a missile. Instead, Stark creates a powerful suit of armor, turning him into Iron Man and allowing him to escape. When he returns to America, his assistant Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow), friend Rhodey (Terrence Howard), and right-hand man Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) all marvel at the change in the man they knew. IRON MAN is the first film to be self-financed by Marvel Studios, and they should be proud of their freshman effort. They didn't take any obvious routes with choosing the cast or crew, and it pays off. Director Jon Favreau, who also has a small role in the film, is best known for directing ELF, but his first action-driven effort is nearly flawless. Casting Downey was gutsy but inspired: this is his first big action picture as well, but the wit he displays in films such as the cult hit KISS KISS, BANG BANG works perfectly for the character of Stark. IRON MAN features nods to its beloved source material, as well as to the classic animated series of the 1960s. But even for the uninitiated, this film provides an interesting entry into the Marvel superhero's universe. Audiences who keep watching after the credits have rolled will be rewarded with a bonus scene. [More]

Starring: Robert Downey, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard, Shaun Toub

Starring: Robert Downey, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard, Shaun Toub, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb, Clark Gregg, Faran Tahir

Director: Jon Favreau

Director: Jon Favreau
Screenwriter: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matthew Holloway
Producer: Avi Arad, Kevin Feige
Composer: Ramin Djawadi
Studio: New Line Cinema

[See More Credits]

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  • Comic-Con 2006 Interview
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    Robert Downey Jr.
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    Robert Downey Jr. (SDCC 07)
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  • Jon Favreau (SDCC 07)
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    Terrence Howard (SDCC 07)
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    Gweneth Paltrow (SDCC 07)
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    2008 Audi R8 (SDCC 07)
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    Jon Favreau
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  • WonderCon 2008: Jon Favreau
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    Trailer #2 - 2/28/2008
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    UK Red Carpet Interviews
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    Robert Downey Jr. AU Interview
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  • Out Of Breath
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    Deploy Flaps
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    Interview
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    We Make Weapons
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  • Let's See What This Thing Can Do
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    Pepper's Birthday Present
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    The Jericho
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    Red Carpet Premiere
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  • RT Review Revue - Iron Man, Made of Honor
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    Robert Downey Jr. & The Mark 1
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  • Making The Scene With ILM
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    Favreau On Effects
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    Modeling Iron Man
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    Exclusive Deleted Scene - Dubai
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1 - 4 of 32

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Reviews for Iron Man

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Ironman is great fun, but it could've been better. And judging by interviews with director Jon Favreau the sequel sounds like it'll be a corker.

Full Review Source: Triple j | comment Comment
06/08/08
Marc Fennell
Marc Fennell
Triple j
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Downey imbues this superhero with a heart that glows as radiantly as the power reactor implants in his chest.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
06/07/08
Jim Schembri
Jim Schembri
The Age (Australia)
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Iron Man is what mainstream, big screen entertainment ought to be like.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
05/05/08
Margaret Pomeranz
Margaret Pomeranz
At the Movies (Australia)
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An exciting, funny, entertaining and utterly compelling piece of popcorn entertainment that sits at the top end of comic book adaptations.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
05/05/08
Erin Free
Erin Free
FILMINK (Australia)
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He’s not as limber as Spider-Man once was, or as darkly compelling as Batman is yet to be, but Iron Man comes with his own enjoyable strengths and weaknesses in a fun film that also has a point of view.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine Australasia | comment Comment
05/05/08
Michael Adams
Michael Adams
Empire Magazine Australasia
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There is precious little comedy and even less characterisation.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment 1 Comment
05/02/08
Paul Byrnes
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
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The combination of its realistic backdrop, boy's own adventure and Robert Downey Jr makes for a blast of a new style comic book hero in Iron Man. Above all, humour is what elevates this highly entertaining fantasy into something beyond our expectations.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment 1 Comment
04/28/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
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Its cast, principally Robert Downey Jr, and some solid direction from Jon Favreau breathe a lot of life and energy into an otherwise run-of-the-mill comic book origin movie.

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
04/28/08
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
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At the end of the day it's Robert Downey Jr. who powers the lift-off separating this from most other superhero movies.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
06/20/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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The gadgetry is absolutely dazzling, the action is mostly exhilarating, the comedy is scintillating and the whole enormous enterprise throbs with dramatic energy.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment Comment
05/02/08
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
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Despite the convulsively jittery address to the role, [Downey] is never in the smallest degree engaging in the way director Jon Favreau appears to think.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment 10 Comments
05/02/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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Iron Man is an unusually good superhero picture. Or at least -- since it certainly has its problems -- a superhero movie that's good in unusual ways.

comment 3 Comments
05/01/08
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Toggling between Stark's impish goatee and Iron Man's full-metal body condom, and amid so many generic fireballs, kill shots and earsplitting thumps, bumps and crunches, the film finally collapses under its own weight.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment 48 Comments
05/01/08
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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Downey's unbeatable charisma makes these problems less troublesome than they would be otherwise, but wouldn't it be nice if they didn't exist at all?

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment 22 Comments
05/01/08
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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Hollywood has unearthed an unlikely weapon of mass destruction: Robert Downey Jr.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
05/01/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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Iron Man is simply great escapism. It deserves to be the first blockbuster of the summer.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 1 Comment
05/01/08
Bill Zwecker
Bill Zwecker
Chicago Sun-Times
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There’s a slightly depressed, going-through-the-motions feel to the entire show.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment 27 Comments
04/28/08
David Denby
David Denby
New Yorker
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Robert Downey Jr. is this movie.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment 5 Comments
04/28/08
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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[An] expansively entertaining special effects extravaganza.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 1 Comment
04/25/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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It’s not sure where to go once the final Iron Man suit is constructed, and seems in a rush to get there, but Downey Jr and the supporting cast are so perfectly placed we're already looking forward to the bound-to-be-better sequel.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/25/08
Dan Jolin
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Iron Man

September 21, 2009: Copyright Battle Erupts Over Marvel Characters Opens in new window
What's next for the lawyer who successfully wrested chunks of the Superman copyright away from DC and gave them to the estate of creator Jerome Siegel? A similar lawsuit, argued... More...

April 22, 2009: Total Recall: Robert Downey, Jr.'s Best Movies
Early in his career, he seemed destined to be typecast as a go-to guy for fast-talking, lovably odd characters in lightweight comedies -- and later on, he was in danger of... More...

April 14, 2009: Is Faran Tahir Iron Man's Mandarin? Opens in new window
Remember Faran Tahir's appearance as an outwitted warlord in "Iron Man"? Yeah, well, so does Tahir -- and as he tells Sci Fi Wire, just because his character doesn't appear in... More...

March 27, 2009: Marvel Seeks Writers Opens in new window
Hey, screenwriters! Looking for steady work? Know a thing or two about Marvel's costumed crimefighters? You may be one of the writers the studio is looking to add to its team! More...

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