10. Iron Man 2 – 2010
“If you try to escape, or play any sort of games with me, I will taze you and watch “Supernanny” while you drool into the carpet.”
The curse of the sequel! Instead of focusing on what made the first film so strong and naturally growing the story, Marvel threw everything at IM2 in their rush to build towards The Avengers. There are plenty of threads, and all them could have been the focus. Stark’s health. The military’s interest in the Iron Man tech. Whiplash’s vengeance. Justin Hammer’s jealousy.
Instead it’s all thrown together and doesn’t focus on any of it, which is a real shame as it has some very cool moments. Sam Rockwell is gloriously in over his head and arrogant as business rival Justin Hammer, whilst we have the introduction of Black Widow as well as Agent Coulson getting more screen time.
The absolutely coolest part though is War Machine. Don Cheadle replaced Terence Howard and brought with him much stronger chemistry with Stark….and a bloody big chain gun. Does it get much cooler than Iron Man and War Machine taking names? It does not.
It has improved each time I’ve seen it but it’s still a very busy sequel.
9. Thor – 2011
“I need a horse!”
At the time a Norse God was seen as a big risk, with Marvel only dealing in technology and science up to this point. Could the burgeoning Marvel Universe hold up to the more cosmic end of things?
Yes!
Kenneth Branagh was a great choice, his steady hand making the grandeur of Asgard and its inhabitants work. Hemsworth was suitably arrogant and massive in the title role but Tom Hiddleston’s Loki was the real star. Deceitful, emotional, and a lovable little tinker that you wanted to hate but just couldn’t.
Though it delivered on introducing audiences to the greater Marvel universe it had one big issue. Thor changed his tune bloody quickly. Over a couple of days in fact. Quite an about turn and a bit rushed. This took the edge off the story as a whole for me, but it is entertaining.
Originally published July 22, 2015. Updated November 7, 2019.
