5. Iron Man 2
- Release Year: 2010
- Director: Jon Favreau
- Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson
Iron Man 2 is the second Iron Man movie, obviously, and it’s the only sequel that’s part of Marvel Phase One. The film premiered in 2010, nearly two years after the first Iron Man movie was released.
In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark has revealed himself as Iron Man and is struggling with his personal health. He also faces a new enemy in the form of Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke, a Russian physicist who seeks revenge on the Stark family.
Iron Man and Rhodey/War Machine, played by Don Cheadle, defeat Vanko and his army of drones. Stark also discovers a new element to replace the palladium in his arc reactor, saving his life, which sets up the birth of the Avengers shortly after.
Unfortunately, Iron Man 2 just isn’t quite as good as the first film, which is no surprise and not really an insult, either! Iron Man is such a great movie and so revolutionary. It delivered something we’d never seen before. It would be foolish to think the sequel would do that all again. Still, Iron Man 2 is really good; it’s just not quite one of the best MCU movies we’ve seen so far.