Iron Man: Ranking All Of Robert Downey Jr.'s MCU Performances From Worst To Best

9. Iron Man 2

Iron Man MCU
Marvel Studios

It's no fun to kick a movie when its down and man, oh man, has Iron Man 2 been down for quite a while. But honestly, this is a film that kind of deserves the reputation. It's a meandering, muddled, and confused film that is easily the best showcase of the early day growing pains of the MCU, as Feige and co. were still clearly struggling to find the right balance between individual stories and connectivity.

Which doesn't leave all that much room for Downey to really shine. That's not to say his performance is bad here, it's just easily the weakest full-length performance he's given as the character. There are some brighter spots, such as in the second act when the film's momentum slows to a crawl, which gives Downey a chance to turn his performance internal, doing a great job of subtly exploring some of Tony's more complex issues with narcissism and his father.

It's just that for most of the movie it just kind of feels like Stark and Downey are cruising on auto-pilot, using the charm and wit of the first film to try and distract audiences from the fact that this film is essentially all filler.

Contributor
Contributor

A film enthusiast and writer, who'll explain to you why Jingle All The Way is a classic any day of the week.