All Three Iron Films Man RANKED!
In the vast cinematic universe known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), few characters stand as tall and iconic as Iron Man. From his humble beginnings in a cave to his epic battles against cosmic threats, Tony Stark's journey has captivated audiences for over a decade. But with great popularity comes great debate, and, in today's article, I, Brighton Nelson of The Reel Ranker present to you... All Three Iron Man Films RANKED!
3: Iron Man II - D Tier
The Reel Ranker Score: 37%
Year: 2010
Critic Consensus: 65%
Audience Consensus: 68%
How shocking of me to put this film here—it's not like almost everyone and their grandmothers consider this a bottom-tier MCU film or anything... and, rather atypically for me, I'd have to agree with the majority this time around. I'll start with the positives. First off, this film introduces Black Widow and Justin Hammer into the MCU! The former is one of my favorite heroes, and the second is an iconic villain for a reason. We also get tons of fabulous Nick Fury, Happy Hogan, and War Machine action here! The obvious highlight of this film is its gripping, intense, phenomenal, and iconic scene. Unfortunately, the character introductions and the epic climax are pretty much the only things holding me back from calling this a flat-out lousy film. The plot here is overstuffed to the brim due to time constraints put on the director, and, quite frankly, nothing of the plot leading up to the aforementioned climax is really worth watching. If I were solely ranking climaxes, this would be a different story—this would easily take the first place position. However, as-is, with an overstuffed and usually uninteresting narrative, this film falls relatively flat and is the worst Iron Man movie by quite a bit. I'm sorry, Jon Favreau, but the brilliant character cast couldn't save your rushed film—don't worry, man, I don't blame you whatsoever. It's the conniving committee we all love to hate who did this to you; it's rather apparent.
2: Iron Man - B Tier
The Reel Ranker Score: 52%
Year: 2008
Critic Consensus: 87%
Audience Consensus: 89%
While my last pick probably didn't come as too much of a shock, not having this in first likely did! As someone who was born in 2007, I didn't get to see how this film took the movie industry by storm and started the MCU. And, frankly, I highly respect this film. Do I think it is one of the best MCU films? Not even close—frankly, I'd controversially rank it in the bottom half of my tier list. Does that mean I dislike this film? Far from it. I thoroughly enjoy it. But outside of Iron Man and his character growth and the more indie edge the film has with a high ratio of practical effects; this film is excellent all around. Its legacy is phenomenal, and I find Tony Stark's story compelling, as well as the opening sequence brilliant, but, ultimately, this film didn't resonate as much with me as it did with most.
1: Iron Man III - A Tier
The Reel Ranker Score: 65%
Year: 2013
Critic Consensus: 71%
Audience Consensus: 73%
Ever since I watched the MCU for the first time, this has always been my clear-cut favorite of the Iron Man trilogy. I love Shane Black's direction with the film, and I absolutely don't blame this movie for feeling irrelevant to the grander MCU—I again call into question the choices of everyone's favorite committee. But I digress. I love how this film tackles emotions and Tony Stark's character—since I'm not too interested in Iron Man's "superpowers", per se, a film more focused on Tony Stark himself was right up my alley. I also loved the Mandarin plot twist—I know, shocking. I never thought they'd genuinely have been done with the real Mandarin so fast, so it didn't particularly bother me. I found Trevor Slattery to be a fun joke villain that I enjoyed seeing again in Shang-Chi, and I actually found the villain here to be pretty menacing (though a bit forgettable). I also found the climax here to be really cool, with the unnecessarily high number of Iron Man suits being an outstanding moment and the more personal stakes fitting perfectly with the film and juxtaposing the laughably colossal climax of the previous film. I loved Pepper Potts in this film more than in the other two, and all that firepower stuff was incredible—as a fellow redhead, I was hoping she'd keep her fiery powers so she could not-so-hypothetically roast people back when they make "jokes" about her lack of soul. Also, the girl power scene in Avengers: Endgame would've been infinitely more epic and not-so-cringey if Pepper Potts was demolishing people as a fiery force to be reckoned with. Oh well. This is still my favorite Iron Man film by a pretty wide margin and a pretty great MCU film as a whole, even if it does a rather shoddy job of actually fitting into the greater whole.
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The Verdict
The Reel Ranking:
3: Iron Man II (37%)
2: Iron Man (52%)
1: Iron Man III (65%)
Common Critic Consensus:
3: Iron Man II (65%)
2: Iron Man III (71%)
1: Iron Man (87%)
Common Audience Consensus:
3: Iron Man II (68%)
2: Iron Man III (73%)
1: Iron Man (89%)
