Summer of '08: Introduction and Iron Man

A week-by-week examination of one of the best movie summers.

Welcome to our latest series for our paid subscribers: Summer of '08.

Just like we did last year with the Summer of '89, each week from now until the evenings get earlier, we'll be diving into the cinematic and cultural landscape that was 2008. We'll look at the marquees every week and follow all major releases, from blockbuster hits to flopping thuds.

For starters, it was the summer that superhero movies became superhero movies, with Iron Man secretly kicking off the MCU and The Dark Knight redefining the genre. We got new films from both Dreamworks and Pixar, entries in the long-running Indiana Jones tale and Star Wars universe, cult comedies, 2008's version of Barbenheimer, and even a movie called Space Chimps.

Some weeks will feature an essay on just one film (like this week), while others will see us check the listings for all that’s new at the multiplex.

Only paid subscribers will get it all. Sign up for a discounted subscription so you don't miss anything:

Iron Man (2008)

After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.

May 2, 2008

Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Leslie Bibb
cinematography by Matthew Libatique
music by Ramin Djawadi
screenplay by Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
produced by Avi Arad, Kevin Feige
directed by Jon Favreau