10. Iron Man 2, 2010.
Directed by Jon Favreau.
Starring Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Don Cheadle (James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes), Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer), Mickey Rourke (Ivan Vanko/Whiplash), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), John Favreau (Happy Hogan), John Slattrey (Howard Stark) and Paul Bettany (J.A.R.V.I.S.).
Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. had launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe with success with 2008’s Iron Man, and in 2010 they followed this up with an even bigger box office hit in Marvel’s third release Iron Man 2.
Managing to get one half the sequel formula of “bigger and better” right, Iron Man 2 was the first real step on the road to The Avengers, expanding the concept of a wider, shared Marvel universe by ramping up S.H.I.E.L.D.’s involvement, introducing the character of the Black Widow, and teased the upcoming arrivals of Thor and Captain America. Unfortunately, it also rehashed the plot of the original, and delivered the weakest villain to date in Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash.
The only film to find itself in the bottom three of each of our writers’ rankings, Iron Man 2 takes the honour of being Marvel’s worst movie to date, although the next film pushed it close…
Read our reviews of Iron Man 2 here, here and here.
Originally published August 13, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
