Iron Man
Dir: Jon Favreau
2008
****
This is a pretty good comic book movie. Nearly every Avenger has appeared on screen in one form or another but this is the beginning of Marvel's dominance of superhero cinema. The secret? It is simply better than a lot of the crap that's been made from comic/video game franchises before. Also in its favour is that Iron Man, as loved as he has been for many years by comic fans, is generally unknown to most people. He is also individual in the fact that he has no secret identity, broadening the possibilities of the character and avoiding many of the usual cliches. I can almost forgive Mr. Favreau for Daredevil now! One bit of criticism though, we now know to look out for them but the lack of warning of an exciting post-credit scene annoyed me more than anything in 2008 when I realised I'd missed it. I'm glad DC haven't adopted the same gimmick.