Iron Man

Iron Man (2008) is now treated as the opening of a thirty film universe, though nobody was confident of that when it was made. Tony Stark builds weapons and is rich. He is kidnapped in Afghanistan using weapons his own company produced, takes shrapnel to the chest, and builds a suit in a cave to survive. When he returns he announces that his company will stop making weapons. The real risk was Robert Downey Jr. At the time his history of addiction made him difficult to insure and the studio did not want him. Jon Favreau pushed for him and got him a screen test. The entire structure of Marvel now rests on that decision. The script was not finished when they shot. Much of the dialogue was improvised on set, and Downey's version of the character largely formed that way. The single line at the end is one of them. In the comics Stark conceals his identity; in the film he reveals it, and that line was improvised. The direction of the whole franchise changed with it. The post credits scene also started here and became a habit. Jeff Bridges plays the villain. It runs 126 minutes. Good for: superheroes, action, and 2000s blockbusters. Fine with teenagers. Less good for: it involves arms dealing and combat, and the third act falls into the genre's template.