It's the worst MCU film. Like the Transformers series, it can be pretty fun, that is, if you are willing to turn your brain off and just go for a ride. It's colorful, its fast, it's loud, it's funny.

However it's a terrible film.

You have Tony trying to survive his impending death through palladium poisoning, becoming a member the Avengers, facing battles over ownership of his technology from Congress, facing a rivalry from a two bit competitor, and facing a new rival from a Russian man who wants revenge for something that Tony's father did to his father.

Does that sound confusing. I'm glad you think so, because it is.

This was a quaint time. A period where Mickey Rourke was a hot commodity after years of languishing on the B-List. Funny how times change. He is no longer involved in A films. He probably won't be going back to them anytime soon. What a terrible casting choice. in hindsight. He's terrible in it.

In the meantime, much of the core cast went on to star in some of the MCU's later, much better films.

That doesn't mean that this film is without its merits. One of my favorite gags involves a scene where Happy Hogan and Black Widow team together to battle a group of thugs. It's pretty cool. There are also echoes of the comic series, where Iron Man battles alcoholism within too, which makes it a lot more compelling.

Too bad, this film tried to cram too much story into it. It most definitely could have benefitted from being split into two.