Iron Man is a 2008 action film, which is part of phase one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's directed by Jon Favreau and stars Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jeff Bridges.

The story is about billionaire Tony Stark, who is kidnapped by terrorists and forced to make weapons for them. He instead builds a prototype suit of armour and blasts his way free, eventually refining his technology and becoming the superhero Iron Man.

This was really the first film that kicked off the whole Avengers franchise. I don't think it would have been as successful without Robert Downey, Jr., who really started this whole thing and brought the character of Tony Stark to life. His charisma has really stuck around throughout all of the films and has helped carry their popularity and continued success.

This is a very good film on its own, with a strong story and themes, and great characters. Why they replaced Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle, I really don't know, but it's not something that really bothers me now that Don has been playing the character for so many years. The special effects are great and like all the films that follow, it's full of action as well as some very sarcastic humour.

I recommend this to any comic book or action film fan. The film is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 126 minutes.