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Hoping to tap into some of what made “Iron Man” great, “Ironheart” occasionally shows a spark or two of recapturing some of that magic, only to never really get out of first gear…or even justify the show’s existence in the first place.
While the plot doesn’t need to be earth-shattering or high stakes, the series really doesn’t have a lot going on. The villain and his plan are barely consequential, and it doesn’t seem like it will make a difference if he wins or loses. On top of that, his conflict with our hero feels slightly forced. (There is a secondary villain that has much better motivation to come after Ironheart, but he’s basically a second fiddle)
As far as the hero goes, Riri’s story is a bit flat. Her motivations aren’t really explained until late, and even then. it just doesn’t really sell the idea of how much she’s willing to compromise for what she thinks is the greater good. Most of her supporting cast is fine, with the N.A.T.A.L.I.E character growing on me despite the fact that such a significant influence on Riri’s life wasn’t brought up in her previous appearance. (Granted, I’m not sure where in “Wakanda Forever” that story would fit in.)
Getting back to the bad guys, The Hood had potential to be a complex villain, only to be watered-down by a late season reveal of his motivation and hum-hum master plan. (If they would’ve revealed who he was targeting earlier on, at least his heists might have been more compelling.) It doesn’t help either that he’s referenced like he’s some unstoppable force when he mostly seems like a one-trick pony. The rest of his crew are a hit-or-miss bunch of colorful characters, but the fact that there’s no clear indication if they’re just misguided people that were down on their luck or if they’re ruthless killers that we should despise makes their fates feel like something not worth investing our time in. There is also a final “secret” villain that is an awesome addition to the MCU, but his last-minute arrival and the fact that he makes most of what happened on the show beforehand seem mostly irrelevant, and that start of a completely different story instead of the end of what we had over the six episodes. (Not to mention the lackluster post-credit scene that’s way too vague to be remotely interesting.)
Overall, the show looks pretty good, especially all the Ironheart suits which have enough nuts and bolts to help sell some realism despite all the CG. There’s a couple of decent action sequences, but surprisingly the ones with the heavy hitters are usually the most unfulfilling.
Ultimately, Ironheart’s story somehow stuck between hero’s journey and super-villain origin, and it isn’t very compelling in either category. Add in a bad guy’s dastardly plan that the hero could probably just ignore, and you’re left with something that’s watchable up to the point where it actually could get interesting and then it ends.
** out of *****