in terms of quality it's Iron Man 3 or Civil War or I guess Ragnarok
in terms of being ESSENTIAL out of those I'd say Ragnarok or Civil War I guess? Ragnarok is probably the most direct lead-in. And IM3 is pretty standalone comparatively
Ragnarok is decent but I'd say don't go in expecting another Guardians, which is what I was hoping for
Still gets points just for being more unique/less cookie-cutter than most Marvel movies though. That/IM3/Guardians all have the most distinctive styles based on their directors which is nice
There was one minor thing that bugged me about Civil War
I like that trailer and I’ve watched it a handful of times (I’m a movie trailer nerd). But they went with alternate takes of certain lines for the final cut, it was annoyingly noticeable to me. Best example is Tony’s great “so was I” from the trailer. RBJ kills that line, it’s maybe my favorite shot/line in the MCU and got me excited for this movie. But the one they used for the final cut of the movie wasn’t nearly as good/impactful, it sorta ruined that moment. Pissed me off!!!!!!! You know? Anyone? ..guys?
This was better than average. I'm glad I watched Nice Guys first and could understand Shane Black's style beforehand because it's definitely present throughout here, just not as blatant in Nice Guys
This was one of the funnier Marvel movies. Watch this and then watch like, Winter Soldier and there's just no comparison. RDJ reading Shane Black's razor sharp dialogue couldn't be more perfect. RDJ cracks me up no matter what he's doing and he kills it here, his wit is perfect for the role
Ben Kingsley in that role was a masterstroke. He was hilarious. This is the only movie where I really liked Rhodes, he was p. badass. Guy Pearce was fine as the villain, nothing groundbreaking but at least he wasn't buried in Star Trek makeup like Eccleston in Dark World. Yikes
It was a nice idea focusing on the aftermath of the New York battle in Avengers and its impact on Tony. You don't really see that a whole lot. Did I really buy that he had that much PTSD....NOT REALLY! But I also don't remember specifics from the ending of Avengers so I just rolled with it. It's still good to see a big event like that wasn't totally ignored and that stuff actually weighs on the characters from movie to movie. RDJ again did a great job with it
Good action scenes too, some creative stuff. Way better than fighting a bland CGI army or even worse....A FELLOW SUPERHERO! Slamming through skyscrapers, woohoo!! The fights here were more fun and you got a good sense of what was going on in each one and what the stakes were
Its been 10 years since I've seen a good standalone Iron Man movie until now. Wowee
