RONHEART: Episodes 1.1 and 1.2

Here is the decision, up front. IRONHEART looks the part of a Marvel series — the cinematography, lighting, and action are on par with the MCU, and the special effects mostly deliver. But two episodes in, this reviewer found a show hollowed out by bad writing and a worldview that celebrates the very things Scripture condemns.

The heroine lies, cheats, and steals to further her own ends, and the story rewards her for it. Around her, a Marxist, politically correct framework insists that theft and grievance are justice. And the plot's engine turns out to be a literal deal with a demon. Two stars is generous — the reviewer says only the cinematography and a few warm scenes with Riri's childhood friends kept this from a one-star "abhorrent."

So the practical answer: skip it. There is craft here, but nothing worth handing your evening — or your family's conscience — over to.

Riri Williams is a teenage engineering prodigy who has built her own prototype of an Iron Man powersuit. Set after the events of BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER, the series opens with Riri expelled from MIT and stripped of her research grant.

Desperate and broke, she crash-lands back in her hometown of Chicago and falls in with a band of thieves led by the enigmatic Parker Robbins, pulling heists against the city's most corrupt officials. But the thieves are plotting something behind her back — and traumatic memories from Riri's childhood begin to haunt her.

Two stars, and here is what they mean: the production shell is competent, but almost nothing inside it works. The cinematography, lighting, and action scenes match other MCU projects, and the effects — especially an underground highway robbery in Episode Two — are well executed. The weak spot is the CGI blending: Riri's head looks slapped onto a digital model of her armor, and it's as awkward as it sounds.

The real failures are creative. The dialogue is stilted, the pop-culture music feels out of place in nearly every scene, and the acting is subpar. The reviewer found the heroine's callousness so off-putting that rooting for her becomes impossible. The lone bright spot is the genuine warmth between Riri and her old childhood friends — the only cast members this reviewer actually enjoyed watching. Without them and the camerawork, this would have been a one-star "abhorrent."

IRONHEART runs on a strong Romantic worldview laced with Marxist and politically correct attitudes. Riri and the villains — a cast of minority characters — talk about "being kept down by the system" and "not being recognized for their efforts," and a "black people are oppressed and need to rise up" theme runs strongly through the two episodes. The trouble isn't that the show notices injustice; it's that it endorses lying, cheating, and stealing as the answer, and rewards its heroine for all three. Riri is ungrateful and openly hostile to her widowed mother, joins a gang of thieves to fund her research, and never pays a real moral price for any of it.

The series also folds in casting-and-character choices the reviewer flags: a black male villain is dressed as a "nonbinary" drag queen, and Riri bullies an effeminate white man for his black-market goods. Weigh these as you will; this review names them as part of the show's politically correct posture.

There are faint gleams of light — Riri is cordial with her neighbors and old friends, a song references Judgment Day, there's a mention of a church, and a character quotes Jesus with "Get behind me, Satan." But the plot's true engine is darker still: the head thief is in league with an actual demon, later revealed as Mephisto and equated with Satan. A show that quotes Christ's rebuke of the devil and then hands the devil the driver's seat cannot claim moral clarity.

Scripture answers the show's own grievance-and-grasping directly: "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work" (Ephesians 4:28).

IRONHEART has the look of a Marvel series and almost none of the heart. This reviewer found stilted writing, a heroine impossible to root for, heavy woke messaging, and a plot that ultimately runs on a deal with the devil — merits that never outweigh the cost. So our answer stands: skip it. Looking for something better for tonight? Try our latest family-friendly picks.