Iron Man 2 is not the same movie as its 2008 predecessor like you might have expected it to be. Even though it does find ways to just strap big ass rockets and machine guns to everything, it doesn't sacrifice any backstory for the sake of a cheap rush. It's simple to make an action movie 'splode all over the place with no real depth, but it takes real finesse to balance a great character piece with a high-octane thrill ride, and Jon Favreau handles it perfectly.

Gareth Edwards' Monsters is at its core a monster movie. There's big scary creatures, vehicles breaking down at inopportune moments, and even some decimated cities. But what Monsters tries to do differently is the human drama, the personal strife that our heroes are going through on the outside world. The only problem is that you sort of don't really care what they're going through in either situation.