Nice idea/thread (been away for Chrimbo, not been here much). Can I join in? (Did watch it recently, it was on Film 4 not long ago).

Iron Man

This film had something going for it that most the others didn't. Lack of connection to the extended universe (from here on known as the 'bogging down' in all my other posts). Characters were less defined and could be fleshed out without too much hinderance. It told Ironman's origin as best it could while modernising him plus use of a good Ironman story/plot and the main villain (Stane) was a nice idea. Infact the plot works on some great levels in regards to the original plot of the comic, including some significant plot points and even lines taken direct from the comic even if it was basically summarised into a 2 hour film. Although, Tony's alcoholism will likely never be mentioned in this or his other films being the poster boy for the MCU (can't have flaws in his character now can we?) but overall, I enjoyed it. It was a good sign of things to come.

8/10.

You are in, my dude!

Also, I think we will agree a lot about the "bogging" down. You probably see it most egregiously in Age of Ultron. Too many characters, too many sub-plots, too many attempts to advance or introduce sub-series when you should be focusing on making a good stand-alone movie. But we will get there soon enough ;)

I will try my best to be fair. I actually enjoyed most Marvel movies, they are largely a fun time with friends.

Coolio, warning, my fanboy side will hinder reactions to many smaller aspects of the films but won't hinder the scores. :P

I've just seen Iron Man, and my opinion is pretty much the same since I first watched it. It's one of the best MCU movies and a great way to start the franchise. Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man was a brilliant choice, and his character is full of charisma. The film has decent dialogue (though formulaic at parts), and the character work is good for the most part. I'm not the biggest fan of the evil guy (actually, I think this complaint is common for almost every MCU movie, so I expect to say this a lot xD), but I like his motivations, which are basically being a greedy bastard who profits on wars and conflict. Also, Tony Stark's character development from being a, basically, rich asshole to being a rich asshole (lol) but with morale is pretty well done.

With decimals it'd be a 8.6/10. Let's give it a 9/10 then ;).

Now, let's go into Hulk, which is probably the worst score I'll give to any MCU movie xD.

One thing that came to mind before we move off Iron Man is how much of a game changer that last scene is (not the tag). “I am Iron Man”. Up to that point most superhero films had largely focused on keeping a secret identity even if heroes tended to take off their masks a lot. I want to say this had a large effect on the Arrowverse as secret identities (while retained for the most part) tend to be quite flexible when it comes to who they let into their inner circle. And come to think of it, the main reason secret identities tend to be kept (to avoid enemies targeting loved ones) has largely been avoided in the MCU. Sure loved ones are targeted at times of convenience, but I can’t really think of a villain going out of their way to capture someone as part of their plan

Huh. I feel like they've shown plenty of flaws in Tony's character. Including his excessive alcohol drinking.

Iron Man 2 basically revolves around this, so.... Maybe in the comics the alcoholic drinking description is more crude? But having a fight with the Iron Man suit and using the suit like that in a birthday party seems a bit too much imho xD.

They showed a lot but by Avengers it was seemingly removed from his character. I don't blame them, it's a hard thing to try and portray. Part of what makes Marvel characters so good is their flaws, they are relatable, Tony has a big one that was part of his character for many years. I'm sad they weren't able to show it fully, you'd think a guy who was getting drunk because he was dying from a bit of poisoning would turn more to alcohol after the Avengers thing but at the same time, understand how it's not the easiest to do in a film about a 'superhero'.

Got it! I think they tried to do it in a different way in Iron Man 3 showing a post traumatic syndrome. I've really enjoyed that approach because Tony Stark alcohol abuse was portrayed in 2 already, and we could see a different part of his character. In the end of Iron Man 3 he seemed more reassured about himself and I think it's fitting than in the next movies he seemed a more stable guy.