10 Worst MCU Films (So Far)

2. Iron Man 2

Eternals Marvel
Marvel Studios

The MCU has delivered a few mediocre films, but it's only actually got two films which could genuinely be described as out-and-out bad. The first of these is the franchise's third film, Iron Man 2.

The sequel was a crushing let-down at the time and as the years have progressed this is only looking more and more inadequate now that we've seen the dazzling heights that the MCU has reached. Honestly, let's just be grateful that Iron Man 2 didn't prematurely kill off goodwill for the franchise altogether.

In every sense, Iron Man 2 is a mess. It's a hopeless mish-mash of different storylines - the Avengers being set up, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) having a personal crisis, Iron Man fighting Whiplash (a sadly wasted Mickey Rourke) - and maybe the film's chaotic, over-cluttered vibe would've been acceptable had any of these elements been any good, but they're not.

The franchise building feels desperate, the drama storyline is badly written and annoying, the humour sucks and even though this is supposed to be a fun superhero blockbuster there is an unforgivable lack of actual, you know, fun. In fact, there are literally just two action scenes in the whole thing - and boring ones at that.

As such, Iron Man 2 is both one of the most disappointing movies and one of the worst superhero films of the 2010s. It's not quite the MCU's worst though...

Contributor

Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.