Misogyny, misogyny, more misogyny?

At least that was my first thought after witnessing Tony Stark’s character.

With the Donald Trump vibes coming to mind directly after.

Thank God Stark’s character did a full 180 pretty quickly after the first few scenes of the movie, because a main character’s personality makes or breaks the movie for me.

I guess you could say he had a change of heart. Literally.

As much as I can’t stand a misogynistic male in the real-world, I definitely find it hard to endure for an entire duration of a two-hour movie.

Okay, now let’s get into the actual plot of Iron Man. Right off the bat this movie gave me more “mature” vibes than the other two I have watched. You know with the casual waterboarding and all.

The scene after he gets shrapnel lodged in his heart reminded me of Grey’s Anatomy. What with Stark being on the operating table and blood and a human heart.

I don’t think it would be a true Iron Man review if I didn’t at least mention the amazing acting job from Robert Downey Jr. He truly molds to the character, which is hard because as I mentioned Stark’s character shifts a lot. The dialogue matches Downey’s persona so well, and it truly is the perfect mix of sarcasm and wit.

I am nervous to even mention this, because I know it’s not for everyone but I love how 3/4 of the movie was spent for the viewer to get to know Stark’s character and personality, before he becomes a superhero. Because of this he was way more relatable than the other superheroes so far. I was a stickler in the last two movies, and I finally saw what I was looking for.

The special effects were also an enormous level up, as when there wasn’t dialogue something was exploding.

One little plot line that I thought was lacking a bit was the battery-magnet fixing of the heart? At least that’s what I think it was. There was nothing glaringly wrong with this scene, but I thought it was just lazy. I felt like the whole scene with him in the cave was inserted last minute when the writers needed some reason for Stark’s “bionic” heart.

On another note, Pepper Potts (could Marvel not come up with a better name for her? Marvel acts like there are not a million names to pick from in the universe) played by Gwenyth Paltrow, is a likable, stable, and grounded character to complement the crazy antics nature of Stark.

One trend I’m noticing so far is Marvel establishes clear chemistry between two characters, but they never quite get together. It’s a little annoying but also a little intriguing. I don’t mind it.

One of my favorite, and most relatable lines from Stark is “It could be worse. It’s fine,” as he’s developing the iron man suit and has a little malfunction in the air. Definitely living by those lines in the fourth quarter.

I also appreciated that the plot was more or less realistic- and the enemy wasn’t some sci-fi fantasy villain. Don’t get me wrong there’s a time and place for that plot line, but this plot was refreshing.

I also really liked how Stark’s personality didn’t disappear once he put on the suit, but instead intensified Downey’s witty and compelling character.

Overall, as an origin story it’s almost flawless. Like I mentioned before, 3/4 of the movie was dedicated to Stark’s character and the development of Iron Man. While it may have lacked a little bit of a story line, for an origin story I think it is essential.

We really get to see the suit in action in the last 20 minutes of the movie which show off the special-effects, which again are really elevated.

Oh, another character of note is- Lt. Col. Rhodes (Terrence Howard), whose role isn’t very prominent, but I still loved the little dialogue he did have.

Anyway, whatever is lacking in a plot line, is duly made up for in the amazing cast. A casting director somewhere deserves a raise.

Final verdict? 8/10