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Why isn't the Iron Man sequels anywhere near the quality of the first?

Do you like the sequels?

  • Yes, I like the sequels.

    Votes: 302 44.2%

  • No, I dislike them.

    Votes: 203 29.7%

  • Not that entirely bothered.

    Votes: 178 26.1%
  • Total voters
    683
Chris McQueen

Chris McQueen

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The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
5,378
London
Obadiah-Stane-Iron-Monger-in-Iron-Man.png



Tonight, a couple of days after watching Avengers: Endgame, I decided to watch Iron Man 3 for the second time since it's release. I honestly can't believe how poorly structured that entire 'story' was.

As successful as he may be with the character he portrays, I always feel bad for Robert Downey Jr. I would have loved for at least one of these sequels to have been on the same altitude, or even higher quality, than the first movie.

I don't know, I just had to get that out my head.
 
Dankir

Dankir

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
2,513
2 was pretty average, I think 3 succeeded because it was different. But everybody is pretty split on this.
 
Kasai

Kasai

Member
Jan 24, 2018
4,318
2 was the one with Hammer, so it's my favorite.

If a movie has Sam Rockwell in it, I have to love it. I don't even get a choice in the matter.
 
DrForester

DrForester

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Oct 25, 2017
21,933
Both sequels rank in my bottom 5, with 2 at the very bottom.

I never read the comics as a kid, so I had no nostalgia for The Mandarin. As a fan of Ben Kingsly, I thought him haming it up was the the only bright spot of the movie. I really hated Guy Pierce's villain.

I found 2 to just be boring. Suitcase suit was great though.
 
Scullibundo

Scullibundo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,741
Because after the success of the first - like most first time successes, the studio made the movie work for a release date, rather than the other way around.
 
TheBeardedOne

TheBeardedOne

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Oct 27, 2017
22,189
Derry
Probably because they were forced and/or rushed. Sequels are rarely better than the originals, in any medium, so I don't know why you're terribly surprised.

Iron Man is still one of the best of those movies. Iron Man 2 was pretty bad, and was hard to watch, partly because the villain was poor but also because of Sam Rockwell and the fact that it just wasn't very good. I enjoyed Iron Man 3, but it wasn't as good as the first by any means.

I don't know what to vote for in the poll because I only like one of the sequels and there's no option for that.
 
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Halbrand

Halbrand

Member
Oct 27, 2017
19,633
I actually just rewatched Iron Man 3 just after Endgame too and ended up liking it a lot more, after usually ranking it last among the MCU. And IM2 is still fun.

Still, it's sad the quality of the Iron Man sequels was nowhere near the Captain America ones.

Age of Ultron, Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame are all better sequels to Iron Man.
 
coma

coma

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Oct 28, 2017
3,593
2 tried to shoe horn into too much world building. 3 was straight garbage.
 
Pop-O-Matic

Pop-O-Matic

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Oct 25, 2017
13,039
IM3 is the TLJ of the MCU. A great film that's hated on by whiny assholes for completely baffling reasons.

IM2, though, deserves what it gets. It's the film that more than any other embodies the idea of "cookie-cutter Marvel formula" movie...OK, maybe Thor 2 is worse, but still...
 

Deleted member 176

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iron man isn't a very good character and is only good as a guy who tells jokes/complains on the sidelines
 
Volimar

Volimar

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Oct 25, 2017
39,348
I liked em all for different reasons. The Mandarin swerve was pretty neat. I feel like AIM was wasted potential though.
 
Bor Gullet

Bor Gullet

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Oct 27, 2017
12,400
Iron Man 3 is mediocre and the twist sucks.

And no, it's not because it wasn't the "real" Mandarin. Aldrich Killian is just a boring villain with one of the most laughable bad guy origins ever.
 
Forkball

Forkball

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Oct 25, 2017
8,945
RDJ is always good as Stark but 2 and 3 had weak villains and supporting characters. They were literally fighting fire monsters in the third one.
 
MizneyWorld

MizneyWorld

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Oct 28, 2017
446
I remember waiting 2 years for the follow up to the surprisingly great Iron Man. IM2 was a total let down.

I remember leaving the theater thinking that Marvel was dead.
 
OP
OP
Chris McQueen

Chris McQueen

Self-requested ban
The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
5,378
London
Pop-O-Matic said:
IM3 is the TLJ of the MCU. A great film that's hated on by whiny assholes for completely baffling reasons.

IM2, though, deserves what it gets. It's the film that more than any other embodies the idea of "cookie-cutter Marvel formula" movie...OK, maybe Thor 2 is worse, but still...
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maximumzero said:
Iron Man 3 is actually my favorite of the IM films.
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Jiggy said:
Iron Man 3 was the best one ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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tony-stark-eye-roll-gif-5.gif
 
effingvic

effingvic

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,605
Iron Man 3 was playing in the gym today and it's remarkable how I don't remember a single thing from it. Its up there with Thor 2 as MCU movies my brain just doesnt care for.
 

Radd Redd

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,126
Iron Man had an awesome villain Obadiah Stane to work off of in Iron Man 1. The sequels didn't have good villains.
 
HarryDemeanor

HarryDemeanor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,426
Iron Man is still the best one in the series. MCU needs more Justin Hammer though. Only good thing about IM2.
 
-JD-

-JD-

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
3,502
I've actually had a near complete reversal on IM3 over the 6 years (holy shit 6 years) since it came out. I think it's pretty great and does a good job practically inverting the core themes of the original Iron Man: Extremis comic arc to fit the mcu
 
Trigonometrize

Trigonometrize

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,143
2 has an underrated final big battle. It has a good amount of tension, moreso than Iron Man 1's Jeff Bridges turns into the most cartoony bad guy they could've possibly turned him into. Also "I want my bird"
 
I am a Bird

I am a Bird

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Oct 31, 2017
7,373
Bor Gullet said:
Iron Man 3 is mediocre and the twist sucks.

And no, it's not because it wasn't the "real" Mandarin. Aldrich Killian is just a boring villain with one of the most laughable bad guy origins ever.
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Personally I love the backstory of tony stark was mean to me once. I wish the rest of his plans were that petty. Like he planned to kill his neighbor for storming his newspaper
 
louisacommie

louisacommie

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,596
New Jersey
too scared to do intresting villians for iron man solo movies

iron man armour but they are drones andiron man armour but with whips

then generic fire powers for iron man 3
 
h1nch

h1nch

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Dec 12, 2017
1,909
I really liked Iron Man 3. I just wish they left out the part with the stupid annoying kid.
 
Metallix87

Metallix87

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Nov 1, 2017
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I think it's easier to satisfy a wider range of fans and movie-goers with an origin story, overall, than a follow up. The hero getting their powers, suffering an early tragedy, and developing their suit and honing their abilities eat up a lot of time and are generally fun to watch.
 
Reversed

Reversed

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,407
I remember feeling like a fool because I really liked the IM3 trailer back then, but the actual movie put me in a "no more superhero movies for a while" mood (which is why I avoided Thor 2... lucky me?).
 
Haloid1177

Haloid1177

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,539
I'll echo that IM3 is the best one, Shane Black brought a lot to that. But I tend to like the MCU movies that take the tone from the direction more than the overall MCU as a whole.
 

jviggy43

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
18,184
Easy. The second was essentially a preview for avengers and the third wasn't actually an iron man movie.
 

Deleted member 47942

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Sep 20, 2018
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Iron Man 3 is actually good because it's the only MCU film that tries to put its character through a proper arc (Tony dealing with his PTSD from New York). Every other film is hero fights an evil version of themselves for the macguffin. It isn't perfect but at least it tries.

Iron Man 2 is a trashy advertisement for The Avengers that is only saved by the brief moments of Sam Rockwell being on screen.
 
kinoki

kinoki

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,748
Iron Man 3 is the best Iron Man-movie and in my top 5 MCU movies. It's great! (It's basically Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 2.)
 
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