Billionaire industrialist and genius inventor Tony Stark is kidnapped by terrorists in Afghanistan and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, he uses his intelligence to build a high-tech suit of armor to escape captivity. Upon returning home, he uncovers a conspiracy within his own company and refines the suit to protect the world as the armored superhero Iron Man.
Information |
|
|---|---|
Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
May 2, 2008 |
Running time |
126 minutes |
Genre |
Action Adventure Sci-Fi |
Budget |
$140,000,000 |
Box Office |
$585,796,247 |
Crew |
|
Directed by |
Jon Favreau |
Produced by |
Avi Arad Kevin Feige |
Written by |
Mark Fergus Hawk Ostby Art Marcum Matt Holloway |
Music by |
Ramin Djawadi |
Cinematography |
Matthew Libatique |
Edited by |
Dan Lebental |
Production Co. |
Marvel Studios |
Distributed by |
Paramount Pictures |
Top Cast |
|
|
|
Official Trailer |
|
Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #01 in Iron Man Collection
|
The Plot
The Merchant of Death
Tony Stark, the charismatic visionary and CEO of Stark Industries, the world's premier military defense contractor, is living a life of excess. In Las Vegas, he skips an award ceremony to gamble at a casino, leaving his friend and military liaison, Lieutenant Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes, to accept the honor on his behalf. The following day, Stark travels to the war-torn province of Kunar, Afghanistan, to demonstrate his company's latest masterpiece: the "Jericho" missile. The demonstration is a terrifying success, leveling a mountain range and impressing the military brass.
However, the celebration is short-lived. While traveling in a transport convoy through the desert, the vehicles are ambushed. Stark flees his vehicle amid a hail of gunfire, only to land near a bomb—one bearing the Stark Industries logo. The device detonates, sending shrapnel tearing through his body armor and into his chest. Stark loses consciousness as he is dragged away by terrorists.
Captivity and the Arc Reactor
Stark awakens in a dark cave, hooked up to a car battery. He discovers that an electromagnet has been surgically implanted in his chest by a fellow captive, a doctor named Ho Yinsen. Yinsen explains that the magnet is the only thing keeping the shrapnel from entering Stark's heart and killing him. The captors reveal themselves as the Ten Rings, led by the ruthless Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar. Raza offers Stark an ultimatum: build a Jericho missile for the Ten Rings, and he will be granted his freedom.
Stark and Yinsen both know that Raza has no intention of letting them live once the weapon is complete. Under the guise of constructing the missile, the two geniuses secretly begin a different project. They miniaturize the massive Arc Reactor that powers Stark's factory back home, creating a portable generator capable of powering the electromagnet in Stark's chest. With the reactor functional, they begin welding together a crude, powered suit of armor designed to withstand small arms fire and provide Stark a means of escape.
The Escape from the Cave
The Ten Rings grow suspicious of the delay and ambush the workshop just as the suit's software is initializing. Realizing they need more time, Yinsen grabs a weapon and sacrifices himself to distract the guards. Stark, now sealed inside the massive Mark I armor, powers up and fights his way through the caves, impervious to the terrorists' bullets. He reaches the dying Yinsen, who uses his final breaths to urge Stark not to waste his second chance at life.
Fueled by rage and grief, Stark emerges from the cave. He uses the suit's flamethrowers and strength to decimate the terrorists and burn their stockpile of Stark Industries weapons. He launches himself into the sky using the suit's crude rockets but crashes in the desert, destroying the armor. Stark survives the fall and wanders the sands until he is rescued by a search party led by Rhodes. Upon returning to the United States, Stark immediately calls a press conference. Having witnessed the destruction his weapons cause in the wrong hands, he shocks the world—and his business partner, Obadiah Stane—by announcing that Stark Industries will immediately cease the manufacture of weapons.
The Iron Man Is Born
Obadiah Stane, who managed the company for Tony's father and serves as a mentor, warns Stark that this pivot could ruin the company's legacy and stock value. Undeterred, Stark retreats to his home workshop in Malibu. He spends weeks refining his design, building a sleek, flight-capable suit of armor and a more advanced, powerful Arc Reactor for his chest. During this time, he perfects the flight stabilizers and weapon systems, creating the Mark III armor.
Stark makes his first public appearance since his return at a charity gala, where he encounters reporter Christine Everhart. She reveals confronting evidence that Stark Industries weapons, including the Jericho missile, were recently delivered to the Ten Rings and are being used to attack Yinsen's home village of Gulmira. Stark confronts Stane about the double-dealing. Stane does not deny it, revealing he is making a power play to replace Stark as the head of the company.
Justice in Gulmira
Enraged by Stane's betrayal and the suffering in Gulmira, Stark dons his new armor and flies to Afghanistan. He descends upon the village, neutralizing the terrorists and saving the civilians with precision targeting. On his return flight, he is intercepted by the U.S. Air Force. Two F-22 Raptors engage him in a high-speed dogfight. To prevent being shot down, Stark calls Rhodes and reveals that he is the "unidentified craft," convincing Rhodes to call off the attack.
Meanwhile, in the Afghan desert, the Ten Rings have gathered the scattered wreckage of Stark's prototype Mark I suit. Raza meets with Stane, offering to trade the suit in exchange for an army of iron soldiers. Stane, however, turns on his conspirators. He uses a paralyzing sonic device to subdue Raza and has the Ten Rings faction eliminated, seizing the suit for himself. Back at Stark Industries, Stane orders his top scientists to reverse-engineer the wreckage to build a larger, more militarized suit of armor.
Betrayal and Theft
Stark, suspicious of Stane's continued dealings, sends his assistant Pepper Potts to hack into the company's mainframe from Stane's office. Potts discovers shipping manifests proving Stane has been supplying terrorists. More chillingly, she finds a video revealing that Stane had originally hired the Ten Rings to assassinate Stark in Afghanistan, a job they failed to complete when they realized who their target was. Potts narrowly avoids Stane and meets with Agent Phil Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) to hand over the evidence.
Stane's scientists eventually deliver bad news: they cannot replicate Stark's miniaturized Arc Reactor technology to power their prototype suit. Realizing he holds the only working key, Stane ambushes Stark at his Malibu home. He uses a Sonic Taser to paralyze Tony, mocking him before ripping the Arc Reactor out of his chest, leaving him to die. As Stane departs to power his "Iron Monger" suit, a dying Stark drags himself to his lab. He manages to smash the glass case of his original, preserved reactor—the one Pepper saved as a memento—and reinstalls it just in time to save his life.
Battle of the Titans
Pepper Potts and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrive at Sector 16 of Stark Industries to arrest Stane, but they are too late. Stane activates his massive armor and attacks them. Stark arrives in his Mark III suit to intervene, but he is operating on the older, less efficient reactor, leaving him severely underpowered against Stane's behemoth. The battle spills from the lab into the city streets and eventually to the rooftop of the Stark Industries building.
Stane dominates the fight, crushing Stark's armor and mocking his attempts to save bystanders. Realizing he cannot win a direct physical confrontation, Stark instructs Pepper to overload the building's massive Arc Reactor that powers the facility. As Stane moves in for the kill, Pepper engages the overload. A massive column of electrical energy blasts into the sky, engulfing Stane. The surge knocks him unconscious and causes him to fall directly into the exploding reactor, killing him instantly.
I Am Iron Man
The following day, the world is abuzz with news of the armored hero, whom the press has dubbed "Iron Man." Agent Coulson visits Stark and provides him with a detailed cover story involving a bodyguard and a yacht to explain the events at the factory and Stane's death. Stark attends a press conference, intending to read the prepared statement.
However, as the reporters press him for details, Stark's ego and desire for transparency take over. He abandons the cue cards and looks directly into the cameras. With a slight smirk, he simply announces, "I am Iron Man." The room erupts into chaos as the press scrambles for answers, leaving Rhodes looking on in bewildered amusement.
Later that evening, Stark returns home to find a mysterious figure standing in the shadows. It is Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury tells Stark that he has become part of a larger universe, even if he doesn't know it yet. He informs Stark that Iron Man is not the only superhero in the world and states that he is there to discuss the "Avengers Initiative."
