Iron Man (2008)
94%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
21 wins & 73 nominations total
Powered by Robert Downey Jr.’s vibrant charm, Iron Man turbo-charges the superhero genre with a deft intelligence and infectious sense of fun.
Iron Man is a movie that will make you want to suit up and save the world. Robert Downey Jr. delivers a performance that is both charismatic and witty, making it impossible not to root for him. The CGI effects and action scenes are still exciting, even after all these years. And let’s not forget the satisfyingly climactic CGI battle that will leave you on the edge of your seat. If you don’t like Iron Man, then you should stop going to movies. It’s that good.
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, Marvel Enterprises Marvel Studios,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content
Year of Release
2008
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:SDDS Dolby Digital DTS Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 6m
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Language(s):English, Persian, Urdu, Arabic, Kurdish, Hindi, Hungarian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 2, 2008 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 30, 2008
Genre(s)
Action/Adventure
Keyword(s)
starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Faran Tahir, directed by Jon Favreau, written by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, action, adventure, fantasy, PG-13, box office, budget, reviewed by Karl French, Deborah Ross, Craig Outhier, David Stratton, Nick Curtis, Robert Hanks, Nicolás Delgadillo, Rachel Wagner, David Hogan, Richard Propes, Siddhant Adlakha, Marvel Cinematic Universe, billionaire, industrialist, inventor, weapons tests, terrorists, armored suit, crime, terrorism, superhero, intelligence, fun
Worldwide gross: $585,796,247
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $806,911,946
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 144
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 87,994,760
US/Canada gross: $319,034,126
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $439,457,318
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 99
US/Canada opening weekend: $98,618,668
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $135,843,447
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 50
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $140,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $192,844,650
Production budget ranking: 129
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $103,846,844
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $510,220,452
ROI to date (est.): 172%
ROI ranking: 704
Terrence Howard – Jim “Rhodey” Rhodes
Gwyneth Paltrow – Virginia “Pepper” Potts
Jeff Bridges – Obadiah Stane
Shaun Toub – Yinsen
Faran Tahir – Raza
Director(s)
Jon Favreau
Writer(s)
Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
Producer(s)
Avi Arad, Kevin Feige
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
21 wins & 73 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (281) | Top Critics (70) | Fresh (263) | Rotten (18)
Still, if the film is ultimately disappointing it is in part because it begins so well, and there is a lot to enjoy before the over-the-top final act.
October 7, 2018
Karl French
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
I like Downey Jr, usually, with his dark wounded eyes, but here his performance veers between going though the motions and a look which seems to say, “Hey, what film am I doing again?”
August 23, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
Led by Downey’s career-resurrecting performance as billionaire weapons peddler Tony Stark, it proves just as indispensable to the movie’s giddy escapist appeal as the seamless CGI effects and eye-popping pyrotechnics.
June 15, 2015 | Rating: A-
Craig Outhier
Orange County Register
TOP CRITIC
What gives this its distinction [is] Robert Downey Jr, who is terrific.
June 15, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/5
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
Iron Man manages to be both a lot of fun, and quite possibly the most effective commentary on the war on terror that Hollywood has produced so far — not the best argued or the most committed, but the one that most people will see, and think about.
June 9, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Robert Hanks
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
There’s a satisfyingly climactic CGI battle, but Downey Jr tops it in the witty denouement with pure acting skill.
June 9, 2015
Nick Curtis
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
When all is said and done, this is, without a doubt, the Robert Downey Jr. show from start to finish.
June 24, 2021
Nicolás Delgadillo
Discussing Film
One of the best they’ve ever made
March 26, 2021
Rachel Wagner
Rachel’s Reviews (YouTube)
A fun two-hours thanks to a top cast lead by a charismatic Robert Downey Jr. Most of the effects still hold up and the action scenes are still exciting.
February 24, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
David Hogan
hoganreviews.co.uk
If you don’t like Iron Man, then you should stop going to movies.
September 12, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Marvel’s questions of intervention are locked within an invisible framework, one that allows for lip-service to questioning power, yet one that implicitly comes down on the side of power itself, forever protecting the American status quo.
December 15, 2019
Siddhant Adlakha
Slashfilm
This is Downey at the top of his game, delivering a performance full of humor and self-awareness.
October 29, 2019 | Rating: B+
Micheal Compton
Bowling Green Daily News…
Plot
Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Son of legendary inventor and weapons contractor Howard Stark. When Tony Stark is assigned to give a weapons presentation to an Iraqi unit led by Lt. Col. James Rhodes, he’s given a ride on enemy lines. That ride ends badly when Stark’s Humvee that he’s riding in is attacked by enemy combatants. He survives – barely – with a chest full of shrapnel and a car battery attached to his heart. In order to survive he comes up with a way to miniaturize the battery and figures out that the battery can power something else. Thus Iron Man is born. He uses the primitive device to escape from the cave in Iraq. Once back home, he then begins work on perfecting the Iron Man suit. But the man who was put in charge of Stark Industries has plans of his own to take over Tony’s technology for other matters.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as Tony Stark/Iron Man is described as “career-resurrecting” and “full of humor and self-awareness.”
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