3. Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man is the film that kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it did so in a big way. Despite revisiting the stale origin story of a superhero director Jon Favreau was able to breathe new life into the plotline. A lot of that is thanks in large part to Robert Downey Jr.’s great performance as Tony Stark. Combining a great sense of humor with a lot of charisma, RDJ instantly became this character and proved to be a star once again. The only downside here is Jeff Bridges as a weak villain and a final fight scene that’s just as weak. Despite that this was the best film in this universe before these next two films were released.
Originally published May 6, 2014. Updated April 15, 2018.
