Of course, Tony Stark went to flirt with women. The beginning of the film is about introducing the protagonist's personality and background. He's passionate, flamboyant, extroverted, smart, loves the spotlight, and pursues individuality a complete playboy. Plus, he's a second-generation rich kid, always the center of attention wherever he goes, never short on female admirers.
A female reporter chased after him for an interview, but Tony Stark didn't even bother to look at her. After his bodyguard, Happy, reminded him that she was hot, he immediately turned his head back.
Such a character might not be liked by many in real life, but on the big screen, it feels completely different. In Drake's eyes, the beginning that looked entirely different from the leaked online version was really interesting especially the character Tony Stark, who became incredibly likable in just a few short minutes.
"Robert Downey Jr.'s performance is excellent…"
In a theater on Long Island, young Jefferson said to his father, a film layman, "But the director's skill is just as important. Duke's work is, as always, outstanding."
There's no doubt that the Tony Stark shown by Duke on the big screen is an enviable character: a mansion, luxury cars, a beautiful assistant, a private jet, and wealth in the billions. He's hooked up with countless celebrities just thinking about it makes you drool.
But such a carefree life and the belief that "if you want others to fear you, your stick has to be bigger than theirs" eventually changed. How did Tony Stark turn into the justice-filled Iron Man?
No one has a life free of hardship. A major setback led to this transformation.
Tony Stark went to Afghanistan to demonstrate the latest Jericho missile for the U.S. military but ended up being attacked by terrorists. He was captured and had shrapnel lodged in his body. Luckily, someone helped him create an electromagnetic device that saved his life.
Just like all superheroes, when he saw that the terrorists were using weapons made by Stark Industries, Tony Stark was confused. But in the end, he chose to save himself. Taking advantage of the terrorists ordering him to build the Jericho missile, he built the first Iron Man suit—Mark I!
And so, a great battle naturally erupted.
Drake's eyes had already widened. Many people around him were doing the same. Like him, they had clearly seen the special-effects-free pirated version online and now wanted to see the scenes with effects added.
A huge explosion roared. The orange-red flames replaced the green screen from the other version and filled the entire screen, surging forward as if about to explode out of the theater and burn everything down.
"No wonder he's called the explosion maniac…" Drake clearly heard someone murmuring, "His explosion skills are truly masterful."
But it wasn't just about explosions—there were also entertaining scenes.
In the midst of the fiery blast, Tony Stark, clad in the Mark I suit, soared into the air, escaping danger, and then—comically—crashed into the desert.
"Such a rare scene."
Young Jefferson suddenly said that, and Anthony Jefferson curiously asked, "What makes it rare?"
"Dad, you probably haven't watched many of Duke's films, so you might not know he almost never films comedic scenes." Young Jefferson acted like a professional, "This Iron Man has had a lot of humorous moments from the beginning until now. But Duke handled them perfectly. It makes the characters feel witty rather than vulgar."
Anthony Jefferson thought back for a moment and nodded lightly, "That's true."
Every director has things they excel at and things they don't. Duke himself has no talent for comedy. When filming such scenes, he relies heavily on the script and the actors' performance. The witty but not crude lines and moments in the film either come from the script or are improvised by the actors.
The part where Stark is captured by terrorists was thoroughly laid out, so when he returned to his life, his ideology changed drastically. He wanted to shut down Stark Industries' weapons division, which led to the conflict with Obadiah Stane.
This former business partner of his father had long coveted Stark Industries and wanted to take it for himself.
In the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Irene was seriously watching the film. She had loved Duke's movies for so long and knew his style inside out. The completed segments of Iron Man not only carried Duke's signature style but also something else she couldn't quite define.
In fact, that was Marvel's mark. This was, after all, a Marvel superhero. From character design alone, it carried Marvel's signature traits.
Even though Duke gave a lot of input, the script one of the foundations of the film—was written by Marvel's writing team and naturally had to meet the needs of the overall Marvel plan.
Even though Duke had always supported Marvel superhero films, he had to admit that Marvel's movie plots were relatively simple. Characters were often clearly good or evil, and villains were heavily stereotyped. The only truly unique villain, Loki, owed much of his depth to the actor's performance.
In the Iron Man script, the characterization of Iron Monger Obadiah Stane didn't give the director or actors much room to play. And given Duke's production style, it was more worthwhile to enhance the special effects than to delve deeply into a character's psychology.
Besides, is it really necessary to waste effort on exploring a villain's inner world in a film like this?
To put it bluntly, this is ultimately just a popcorn entertainment movie.
However, shooting a popcorn movie is by no means easy, and there's a widely acknowledged fact in Hollywood: the difficulty of making a big-budget commercial film far exceeds that of niche indie films.
As the film played on, Drake's curiosity sparked by watching the leaked version was greatly satisfied. For instance, the scene where Tony Stark builds the Mark II suit: in the leaked version, all he saw was Robert Downey Jr. in a motion-capture suit acting in front of a green screen. But with the added effects, the final result could only be described as stunning.
The camera carefully showcased every detail inside the Iron Man suit. During Tony Stark's experiments, the suit without its outer casing revealed every gear and belt working in perfect synchronization—so intricately detailed it was almost insane.
Following that, the showdown between Iron Man and the F-22 Raptor fighter jets left Drake utterly captivated.
Such an exhilarating viewing experience is something no online leak could offer. This was the kind of film that completely overshadowed its leaked version.
Even in scenes without special effects, Drake noticed that the theater version differed significantly from the online leak, maintaining a strong sense of freshness—especially with the introduction of a new character who hadn't appeared in the leaked version, bringing a wave of surprise and excitement.
Halfway through the movie, Tony Stark is barred from entering Stark Industries by a board maneuver orchestrated by Obadiah Stane. Initially trying to resolve the matter legally, his legal team sends a representative.
"That's Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow."
As a fan of Iron Man, Drake was naturally familiar with Marvel characters. "Not bad—just curious how her combat skills are."
He was well aware that Duke had always had a sharp eye for casting. For example, Robert Downey Jr. and Rachel McAdams in this film: after watching, it was easy to feel that Tony Stark and Pepper Potts were simply meant to be played by them.
However, as the story progressed, Drake's attention gradually shifted away from Natasha Romanoff and toward a certain agent who appeared from time to time.
This agent named Coulson was clearly from the same department as Natasha Romanoff and had repeatedly mentioned the department's name to Pepper Potts—Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division!
Isn't that S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Drake immediately recalled online rumors that Marvel's ultimate goal was to bring together the Avengers on the big screen!
The mere thought of that possibility made Drake tremble with excitement. Just imagining those iconic superheroes joining forces in a movie was enough to drive him wild.
He believed it was highly possible. For instance, the film had repeatedly mentioned that Howard Stark once fought alongside Captain America, Steve Rogers. And Natasha Romanoff, during a secret meeting with Agent Coulson, lamented that she was almost a hundred years old.
According to the comics, the Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, did have ties with Captain America and the Howling Commandos.
She might end up being an important character.
Drake couldn't help but think this way. Up to this point, Scarlett Johansson hadn't had much screen time, nor was her performance particularly eye-catching. But according to media reports, she was the girlfriend of director Duke Rosenberg and a well-known actress. How could she be cast in a mere background role?
The plot soon confirmed this suspicion. In a conversation with a Black man, Scarlett Johansson mentioned wanting to form a team!
However, these scenes were fleeting, conveyed quickly through character dialogue. After all, this movie was called Iron Man.
The plot wasn't filled with twists or complexity. Just like when Drake watched the leaked version—he quickly figured out that Obadiah Stane was the main villain. This key figure in Stark Industries was the mastermind behind the terrorist group that kidnapped Tony Stark.
He too built an Iron Suit but couldn't shrink down the arc reactor, so he ambushed Tony Stark and stole the second-generation arc reactor from him.
Thanks to Pepper Potts preserving the first-generation arc reactor, Tony Stark survived. At the same time, Pepper Potts, along with legal counsel and the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, entered Stark Industries.
Since the movie was titled Iron Man, the final showdown obviously revolved around him.
Thus, the climactic battle split into two parts: one was the technological and metallic showdown between Iron Man and Iron Monger; the other featured Natasha Romanoff's hand-to-hand combat performance.