Iron Man (2008)

Marvel spent a decade recycling the final fight from Iron Man, a guy in a bigger, angrier suit punching the hero on a freeway, and it was the weakest part of this movie too. Everything before it is the reason the whole machine exists. Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark like he wrote his lines on the drive to set: rambling, smug, quick and weirdly lovable. Jeff Bridges chews through every boardroom scene, and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper has better comic timing than half the cast of the sequels. The best stretch is Tony alone in his garage, testing boot thrusters, slamming into the ceiling and bossing around his clumsy robot arms. Jon Favreau keeps it loose, grounded and funny. It made $585.8 million worldwide on a reported $150 million budget and landed 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. An 8.5 because it built the house every Marvel movie since has moved into, cracked foundation and all. $4,516 says you rewatch the garage test scenes and start pricing soldering irons online.

What works: Downey’s motor-mouth charm, the garage test scenes, the cave escape, and Favreau’s loose, funny tone.

What doesn’t: The villain is a thin copy of the hero, and the final suit-on-suit brawl is the weakest action in the movie.

Who it’s for: Anyone who wants to see where the whole Marvel run started, and tinkerers who yell at the screen during the build scenes.