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XIII Rocks
This came out in the same summer as The Dark Knight; for a few weeks I thought it might be my favourite superhero movie. RDJ is just so, so fucking good and carries the whole movie (and the entire franchise), and the writers/directors seem to be aware of this as he's given plenty of opportunities to shine.

This is probably the MCU's best origin story, too, at least in terms of showing the actual creation and development of the hero. The scenes where Tony constructs and tests his suit are very satisfying, and probably still unmatched. Like compare the scenes where Tony creates his suit to say Dr. Strange's training scene or whatever the fuck else. There's really no contest - the way the movie takes time to show the scientific process of what he's doing, the trial and error, all the wihle sprinkling it with humour and fun and a kind of...unstoppable *momentum*, is really an exercise in how to do it right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNu6fRo_7fg

Like the score here is terrific, and at about 35s it changes to a scene of just Tony Stark with a screwdriver playing around with the leg of the suit. This goes on for 40s. If the movie wasn't directed and scored so well and, most importantly, if RDJ didn't have such effortless charisma in the role, I think that would seem overlong. But my eyes are glued to the screen.

I was in stitches at the cardiac arrest scene, too, which is played with such brilliant nonchalance in contrast with Pepper's totally justifiable sheer panic. There's also all the early scenes right up until he gets kidnapped - they showcase the arrogant side of the character in the best way but still manage to keep him likeable; even though he's a huge prick, you totally still wish you were Tony Stark just from watching the first 10m of this movie.

It's not perfect by any means. It suffers from the issue some origin stories suffer from, where the final big fight with the villain feels obligatory - I totally bought Stane's greed and desire to have a bigger, stronger suit for him to sell. In that regard, it does well to weave the rise of the villain in with the rise of the hero (whereas in say Spider-Man 1, Peter becoming Spidey and the creation of the Goblin are separate incidents that happen conveniently at like the same time). That feels totally organic, but the ultimate climax between the two when Stane actually gets into the suit himself is a little silly. But the actual ending - the epilogue, I guess - is outstanding. "I am Iron Man". Fuck yeah you are

Corrik7
Iron Man basically sets the tone for the rest of the series. Robert Downey Jr. could singlehandedly be given the credit for making the MCU happen. If he isn't so damn charismatic in this movie, the universe is probably dead here. However, he carries this movie and blasts the universe off. It's a pretty good movie regardless, but he takes it to universe launching.

Jesse Custer
The movie that started it all has held up remarkably well over time. Robert Downey Jr. has a magnetic charisma as Tony Stark where you cant look away from him for even a second whenever hes on screen. The writing and direction are near flawless, with hardly a single dull moment. And its a joy watching Tony build his armor from scraps in a cave, as well as designing and testing the Iron Man suit when he makes it back home. In the wrong hands, this could have easily been yet another boring superhero origin story, but they got it just right. Nothing more to say really, its a fantastic movie.

Snake5555555555
Ah the simple times. The film that started it all, and still one of the best ones at that. Having a connected universe is awesome; having a simple story about one man in a suit can be even better. I feel like this film avoids a lot of the pratfalls of future movies, having much stronger character development, humor that fits in more naturally, an extremely satisfying and compelling origin story, and a memorable villain even though his template is duplictated ad infinitum later on. I have to say the CGI here holds up extremely well and obviously this well would be a little worse if not for the terrific work of Downey. Moreso than The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Spider-Man, X-Men, or Blade, Iron Man for better or worse revolutionized what a superhero film could be and what ambitions it could try to accomplish, and with that said, the Nick Fury stinger is perhaps the most iconic and influential scene in the last two decades of film. The interconnectivity had officially begun, and there was no going back.

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