Iron Man (2008 film) in casting Downey, but would not take no for an answer, saying, "It was my job as a director to show that it was the best choice creatively ... everybody knew he was talented [and] certainly by studying the Iron Man role and developing that script I realized that the character seemed to line-up with Robert in all the good and bad ways. Downey earned $500,000 for the role. While preparing for filming, Favreau and Downey were given a tour of SpaceX by Elon Musk. Downey said, "Elon was someone Tony probably hung out with and partied with, or more
Iron Man (2008 film) end of the day it's Robert Downey Jr. who powers the lift-off separating this from most other superhero movies". A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" called the film "an unusually good superhero picture. Or at least – since it certainly has its problems – a superhero movie that's good in unusual ways." Among the specialty press, Garth Franklin of "Dark Horizons" commended the "impressive sets and mechanics that combine smoothly with relatively seamless CG", and said, "Robert Downey Jr., along with director Jon Favreau ... help this rise above formula. The result is something that, whilst hardly original