Entertainment

Roger Ebert Gave This “Ingenious” Superhero Movie With a Lead Performance That Was “Unexpected” 4 Stars

Published

1 week ago

28 November 2025

Roger Ebert Gave This "Ingenious" Superhero Movie With a Lead Performance That Was “Unexpected” 4 Stars

The late Roger Ebert made his name a trademark in the entertainment industry through his movie reviews. For decades, his seal of approval (or disapproval) meant a great deal for films. Although he paired for two large periods, first with Gene Siskel and then Richard Roeper, he built a solid solo career that basically made him a one-man Rotten Tomatoes before Rotten Tomatoes itself. Even when the internet became swarmed by critics – and after losing his voice due to his battle with thyroid cancer – Ebert continued his vital task and gave spot-on reviews through his blog.

One of his 2008 reviews took many by surprise at the time – a four-star review for Iron Man. Ebert found the film to be a very well-rounded and tight experience that he described as “ingenious,” while highlighting Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as “unexpected.” This kind of review for a superhero movie was nothing short of astonishing, but it served as an indication of what Marvel had in store with its game-changing franchise.

Roger Ebert Was Surprised by How Real ‘Iron Man’ Felt

In his review, Ebert highlights how he got to watch Iron Man three weeks after its release. By this time, the risk of the film’s hype having elevated his expectations was high. But, knowing what we know now – about how Iron Man kickstarted the change of superhero movie landscape – it’s reasonable that this didn’t undermine Ebert’s first-time viewing. Finding himself to be positively surprised by the Jon Favreau-helmed film, he went on to revise his four-star review.

Roger-Ebert smiling softly for the cameras

The 10 Most Scathing Roger Ebert Reviews, Ranked

He hated these movies. Hated, hated, hated, hated, hated these movies.

According to Ebert, one of the most commendable qualities of Iron Man is the “reality of illusion.” By making the central conflict an arms race between opposing factions – with ammunition provided by an American company, nonetheless – the menace of this superhero film felt extremely real at the time. From the cave Tony Stark finds himself trapped in, to the grand halls of Stark Industries, the sets immersed him in the action as if he were right there. Capping off the illusion, the interactions between the Stark Industries staff, from Favreau’s Happy Hogan, to Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, and Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane made it seem they’d been dealing with each other as coworkers for years. And then, there was the greatest blurring of illusion with the film’s star himself.

Roger Ebert Was Amazed by the Magic of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark

Favreau crafted Iron Man with a variety of qualities that, even to this day, put it above the average of superhero movies. But the undeniable main attraction is Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Ebert, knowing the actor’s antecedents, was quick to notice how Tony was imbued with his personality. The sarcasm, insolence, and eccentricity that now characterize Tony came from Downey Jr. himself. It’s as if he was made (and destined) to play the character, and not the other way around. This makes Tony unique by singling him out from other superheroes.

“He doesn’t behave like most superheroes: he lacks the psychic weight and gravitas.”

Although it might seem like it, this comment wasn’t passive-aggressive appreciation, it was Ebert truly seeing this as one of the most appealing qualities that Favreau and Downey Jr. used to craft Tony Stark. The Marvel hero felt like a breath of fresh air at the time, when the superhero movie status quo was leaning towards serious and dark adaptations – like Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale’s Dark Knight trilogy or Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy. And while those trilogies are still among the best, Downey Jr.’s interpretation transcended a trilogy, and made him the centerpiece of a whole cinematic universe.

With his website still very much alive, Ebert’s legacy as a media-wide critic still lives on to this day. His appreciation of Iron Man is still up there to revisit this validation of sorts – a spot-on assessment that recognized the inception of the MCU was starting on a strong footing. There might not be a way to track the correlation, but Ebert’s highlighting all the film’s strengths must have contributed somehow to the word-of-mouth that made it successful. His four stars meant something at the time, and still do, as the passing years have proved. Iron Man still holds up to its legacy.

Iron Man is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.