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Iron Man
Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios

Iron Man reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 79 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.3 out of 10
based on 38 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 426 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Shaun Toub, Leslie Bibb, Bill Smitrovich, and Nazanin Boniadi

Tony Stark is a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, Tony builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he uncovers a nefarious plot with global implications, he dons his powerful armor and vows to protect the world as Iron Man. (Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios)


GENRE(S): Action  |  Adventure  |  Drama  |  Sci-fi  |  Suspense/Thriller  
WRITTEN BY: Larry Lieber (characters), Jack Kirby (characters)
Don Heck (characters), Stan Lee (characters)
Matt Holloway, Art Marcum
Hawk Ostby, Mark Fergus
 
DIRECTED BY: Jon Favreau  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: September 30, 2008 
Theatrical: May 2, 2008 
RUNNING TIME: 126 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Variety Todd McCarthy
Ever-eclectic director Jon Favreau, who briefly pops up onscreen as a Stark minion, maintains a brisk but not frantic pace, and, in concert with lenser Matthew Libatique, production designer J. Michael Riva and the first-rate visual effects team, has made an unusually elegant looking film for the genre.
Read Full Review
100
Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
The gadgetry is absolutely dazzling, the action is mostly exhilarating, the comedy is scintillating and the whole enormous enterprise, spawned by Marvel comics, throbs with dramatic energy because the man inside the shiny red robotic rig is a daring choice for an action hero, and an inspired one.
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100
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
You hire an actor for his strengths, and Downey would not be strong as a one-dimensional mighty-man. He is strong because he is smart, quick and funny, and because we sense his public persona masks deep private wounds. By building on that, Favreau found his movie, and it's a good one.
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91
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Is it possible to have yet another expensive excursion into this genre that seems in any way fresh, original and alive? The answer, surprisingly, is yes.
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91
Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow
Downey and Favreau and the special-effects team transform the trying-out of the armor and its powers into slapstick cadenzas. But equally entertaining is Stark's and Potts' recognition that they share more than a mere working chemistry.
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90
New York Magazine David Edelstein
Loyal assistant, Pepper Potts, isn't much of a part, but Gwyneth Paltrow is a presence. She stands around looking amused and flabbergastingly pretty, slinging wisecracks with serene aplomb.
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90
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Downey plays off his own bad-boy image wonderfully. The writers give him great lines to work with and ditto that for his Girl Friday, Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts, whose own svelte lines cannot be improved on.
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90
Village Voice Scott Foundas
Iron Man, too, is something that people will see regardless of the reviews, but here is the point: Where Michael Bay (Transformers) has mastered a kind of sensory-assaulting pop art, Favreau is a born storyteller who engages the audience's imagination rather than crushing it in a tsunami of digital noise.
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90
Time Richard Corliss
Some of us knows that there's an American style -- best displayed in the big, smart, kid-friendly epic -- that few other cinemas even aspire to, and none can touch. When it works, as it does here, it rekindles even a cynic's movie love. So cheers to Downey, Favreau and the Iron Man production company. They don't call it Marvel for nothing.
Read Full Review
88
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
All praise to acting dynamo Robert Downey Jr., who brings so much creative juice to the party that Iron Man achieves instant liftoff.
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88
ReelViews James Berardinelli
When it comes to tone, Iron Man achieves something at which many of even its most celebrated predecessors have failed: it doesn't FEEL like a superhero movie. Instead, it's bigger and more inclusive.
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88
New York Post Lou Lumenick
With such smarts and outstanding special effects, I eagerly await a second Iron Man movie, which of course is virtually promised in the final scene.
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88
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Until a final conflict that more resembles a monster-truck jam than a superhero showdown, Iron Man is solid gold.
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88
Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
As big-budget comic book adaptations go, this one's a gratifying freak--the right kind of conflicted, as well as quick-witted. It's a lot of fun.
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83
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Even at his coolest, Downey's Iron Man remains a ghostly, neurotic crusader -- one whose life, in the Marvel tradition, has become a grand spectacle of overcompensation.
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83
The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
Iron Man is the rare comic-book movie that makes the prospect of a sequel seem like a promise instead of a threat.
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83
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
There are more compelling stories to be found in the comic book world, and there are more expressive directors than Jon Favreau. But on the bases of wit, verve, spirit and whiz-bangery, it's pretty tough to find fault with.
Read Full Review
80
New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
The result is the first comic-book movie in a while that actually feels like a classic comic book: fast, furious and flip. Forget about superheroes with love problems and tortured souls.
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80
Newsweek David Ansen
Downey and Favreau give the movie a quirky flavor it can call its own. For that we can be grateful.
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80
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Has the advantage of being an unusually good superhero picture. Or at least -- since it certainly has its problems -- a superhero movie that's good in unusual ways.
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80
Slate Dana Stevens
When it's idling in neutral, and we're watching Stark putter in his workshop or seduce unsuspecting journalists, Iron Man abounds in that rarest of superpowers: charm.
Read Full Review
80
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
The movie's climactic battle scene is mildly thrilling -- although it's not nearly as exciting as simply watching Downey and Bridges work together. Bridges makes a great villain precisely because he's such a relaxed, affable presence.
Read Full Review
78
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
And Favreau? If you'd told me 12 years ago that Swingers' comic linchpin would end up helming one of the best, most visceral, and downright fun foray of all the comic-book franchises waiting in the CGI wings, I'd have told you to amscray, kid. But what the hell? Turns out irony's good for your blood.
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75
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
A brain-free ride on a cinematic bullet train.
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75
USA Today Claudia Puig
Iron Man's biggest strength is that the fantastically armored suit doesn't overpower the intriguingly flawed character encased within.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
An action sci-fi blockbuster extravaganza that provides cartoon thrills for thinking people. It's the best movie of its kind since the second "Spider-Man" movie four years ago.
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75
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
A dark delight that combines pop-culture wit and genuine emotional depth.
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75
Premiere Glenn Kenny
Iron Man is the first Marvel Comics superhero movie I would willingly sit through a second time. This is the result not just of what the movie does, but what the movie doesn't do.
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75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Cynical, hip, politically opportunistic and loaded with kick-ass comic action.
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75
Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
It's a fantastic special effect because it doesn't look like a special effect: The movie sells the illusion that the suit could maybe, possibly, exist.
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70
Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
The movie is so clever and smoothly paced that it's easy to overlook the odious story line.
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70
Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar
As comic book movies go, Iron Man is a solid entry. Downey and company help drag Favreau out of the genre holes he digs, making for a decent experience.
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63
Boston Globe Wesley Morris
Downey appears to like all this make-believe. Even the clunky dialogue sounds witty out of his mouth. This is not a part that makes great demands on his talent, and his slummy approach to it is amusing.
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60
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Though Iron Man is diverting enough in the comic-book-movie mode, there is one thing it doesn't have, and that is dramatic unity. Unlike the irreducible element that is its namesake, Iron Man the movie is an alloy, a combination of several different and disconnected components that don't manage to unite to make a coherent whole.
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60
Empire Dan Jolin
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.
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58
Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
I suppose it's asking too much for a great actor to be matched up with a great director on a project like this. On the other hand, there's always the sequel.
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50
The New Yorker David Denby
[Downey] can make offhandedness mesmerizing, even soulful; he passes through the key moments in this cloddish story as if he were ad-libbing his inner life.
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50
Washington Post Ann Hornaday
It succeeds only fitfully. 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.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 426 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Nick K. gave it a10:
First off, I have never seen a Robert Downey Jr. Movie before this one, so you can't call me biased. I loved the movie. It had it all. Romance, comedy, quick wit, and of course, action. This is THE best movie I had ever seen and I strongly disagree with those who gave it mediocre ratings.

Mike N. gave it a6:
Amusing, but well short of epic. I don't demand that superhero movies be about saving the world. But I have to draw the line at a story concerning corporate politics.

Ginny gave it a9:
Fun movie, great action. Love the graphics

David F gave it a10:
This is a movie I would have never seen, but for rave reviews of others. I'm glad I did. This is much better done than the typical comic-book sendup. A really great movie that keeps your attention throughout. A rare repeat for me, as I don't usually pay for a movie twice. I had to see this again!

John W gave it a2:
Likely one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Pay attention to those that score this movie with a low rating; they're actually the ones who know what they're talking about. Movie Summary: over 45 minutes of watching our hero build the machine. If I wanted to watch the 'A-Team' again with B.A. Baracus I would, but I certainly wouldn't want 45 minutes straight. He then flies away in his machine and is picked up by his American friends. Rest of Movie Summary: Our hero has a change of heart and decides to not build weapons for the military. Yet, of course he builds one for himself and carries on to destroy some badboy 'terrorists'. Our hero tweaks machine to perfect the machine. This process takes an additional 30 minutes minimum. Weak romance/humor displayed between our hero and his secretary. Villain of movie makes bigger version of the flying gayboy contraption. Villain of movie wacks our hero around for awhile, hero of course wins battle of the gayboy flying machines. This movie is utterly pathetic with poorly played 'terrorists' and scenes that dwelled far too long to get the point across. If I could get my money back, I would. Time not well spent. Oh, 2 points is awarded for the 'cool' sunglasses that I'm sure gayfanboys around the world will flock to buy.

Phil gave it a9:
This is one of the best movies of the year. However, my only concern is the absurdly short boss battle.

Ali R. gave it an8:
Nice Effects, Power Suit is just like comics.

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