Shaun:

Craig seems to that ‘Iron Man’ is an incredible film and a real ‘game changer’ for Marvel. I don’t know what Marvels game was before this, but it didn’t need to change. They have been on the right lines since the first X-men/Spiderman, granted a few hiccups along the way (Ang Lees take on the ‘Hulk’) has hindered box office pull but they always seem to get there superheroes back on track.

Iron Man is the first in a long line of films leading up to the current box office smash ‘Avengers Assemble’ flick. After watching Iron Man upon its release in the cinema, it’s has been a long while since I have touched it. At the time, I felt the same way coming out of the cinema as I did re-watching; this is Robert Downey JRs film. After his Oscar nomination for ‘Chaplin’ (1992) it’s safe to say he slipped of the Hollywood radar in a big way. Almost unemployable for a time, he was set back to supporting roles and bit parts, which he excelled in, but it always felt like a REAL waste of his talent.

Then came Iron Man, a second rate superhero which on the surface is a bit dull when it comes to overcrowded superhero market.

Tony Stark is about as likeable as a kick in teeth. He is rude, obnoxious, ignorant, crass and arrogant. But i honestly defy anyone to watch this film and despite those points fall in love with him. And its all down to Downey Jr who owns this film. Without him, it would be a very poor watch. Sure you have Bridges flexing his evil muscles and Paltrow supplementing the humour of Stark at a perfect pitch, but provide nothing fresh or exciting in the same way RDJ does.

Jon Favreau does an okay job of directing and keeps the film very focused (unlike its narrative jarred sequel) but there is clearly no flair to his style and it all comes off a bit stagnant. Not one scene made me think ‘technically brilliant’ in the way X2 set pieces did for example.  Don’t get me wrong, the CGI is standard for this kind of film; it gets the job done, but that’s where it ends.

The film gains its identity through Robert Downey JR, without him, we may not have an assembling of Avengers, and that would be very sad indeed. Maybe he, is in fact, the real ‘game changer’, he took a film that risked mediocrity and made it flash and fun, not many actors can pull that off these days, and to me, he is the only fantastic thing to come from ‘Iron Man’ everything else just screams ‘average’ to me.

7/10

Craig:

With the avengers flying high on the box office charts, a discussion was sparked between myself and Shaun as to the merits of the first of the Marvel Avenger films; ‘Iron Man’ (2008). A lot of comments centered around the importance of the film and how integral it is to the Avengers series. My argument for Iron Man is this:

3.5/4