Iron Man 2 Movie Review

Iron Man 2: Movie Review

★★★★☆

Reviewing a movie should be easy as answering the question, “Did you like it?” If that’s the case, then YES! Iron Man 2 was a good movie. However, in the age of the blog and listen to the mouse roar, there has to be more to it.

Iron Man 2 was a success because while it clearly took off and ran from the previous movie, you didn’t have to know (or remember) every little detail to enjoy the sequel. The returning characters and plot were written strongly enough in IM2 to carry the day without a much referencing back to the original movie.

The new characters: Black Widow, Nick Fury, Whiplash, and Justin Hammer were all integrated into the story in such a way that they improved the greater landscape of the Iron Man (and hence Marvel Film Universe).

Below the jump is a breakdown of the movie in more detail. There are necessarily SPOILERS in the analysis below. Stop here if you haven’t seen the movie!!!

Story: ★★★★☆

This isn’t a story you’ve read before. It isn’t from an Iron Man comic or an Ultimate comic, it’s all brand new and that’s not only refreshing, but a good thing. It’s good in the way that Smallville is really bad (in regards to trashing the legacy of Superman). Iron Man 2 continues to tell really good Marvel (Iron Man) story, without defecating on what has come before – even if it is different. It speaks to the “heart” or nature of the familiar (comic) characters, without completely re-imagining them.

The Vanko (Whiplash)/Hammer plot is well thought out. It works on a number of levels. It is a legacy story that causes Tony to re-examine his relationship with his father and at the same time shows us that there are worse things (Vanko and Hammer) that Tony could have become. Though, that probably wasn’t the point. Particularly, the Vanko story works because it mirrors Tony’s own evolution into Iron Man. Sure, at first glance you might think – right, that guy just built an ARC generator… then suddenly remember Stark built one in a cave with a battery attached to his chest… without the blueprints. Some say Vanko is a combination of the classic comic characters Whiplash and the Crimson Dynamo. I think that Favreau and company deserve more credit for developing (re-imagining Whiplash into) a new and interesting character. And of course, kudos to Mickey Rourke for pulling off such an obtuse character.

The Pepper Potts, CEO; SHIELD; Black Widow; and Rhodey/War Machine subplots are all well developed to their own satisfying ends. The Tony/Pepper relationship is still a little weird for me, but I’ll get over it. Two of the shining moments of the movie were the Widow in action and the revelation that Stark had to be complicit to Rhodey gaining access to the Mk II armor. Though you have to wonder why he chose the Mk II and not the Mk III or IV… maybe the others were locked out? (Though if I recall he went straight to the MK II).

Overall the blending of myriad plotlines, while keeping true to the focus on Tony (and sort of Pepper) was a huge success, even without the absolutely incredible visual imagery.

Action: ★★★☆☆

Hands down the action sequences in Iron Man 2 were excellent, but believe it or not, the Black Widow stole the show. No, really. Her action sequence put all the rest of the armor-heavy, special effect laden action sequences to shame. Okay, her hair looked CGI, but seriously this was the Black Widow the way Frank Miller imagined her two decades ago (and yes, I know she had short hair in Miller’s DD work, I invoke creative license).

When Whiplash first appears on the race track is also an awesome scene. Suitcase-Armor aside, Whiplash and his very cool coils make the most of the moment.

A lot of the Iron Man scenes are great, don’t get me wrong. But watching the Iron Man fly at break-neck speed around the city is getting old. Watching Iron Man beat-up on other metal clad opponents is definitely yesterday’s news.

Best Parts

Favreau as Happy Hogan.

The subtle Mandarin tie-in. Okay, there is absolutely no mention of it IN the film, but there is a quick scene with Rourke and some gangsta looking guy, who in the credits is identified as a 10 Ring Gangster. Favreau really gets it.

As mentioned previously, Tony’s gimmicking Rhodey access to the MK II armor was well done.

The Black Widow fight scenes were the best comic-book fight scenes since Nightcrawler invaded the White House (which is still the best ever).

Mickey Rourke was great, though I have to admit that I am not sure whether it was the way it was written or his performance, though I suspect both were excellent.

Worst Parts

Too many armored bad guys.

Nick Fury’s eye-patch just looked weird.

It wasn’t really a “worst part” but it was kind of sad that Stan Lee’s appearance in the Dr. Pepper commercial is cooler than his appearance in the movie.

Too many armored bad guys.

The underpass flying-chase was just a little too Dark Knight.

Easter Eggs

There is a totally awesome “Cap’s shield cameo” that may have been a big joke and I fell for it.

The “after credits” bonus scene is AWESOME.

There was an online rumor that the screens in the SHIELD ready-room had the whereabouts of the future Avengers marked. True or not, it would be pretty cool.

I know I am probably wrong, but at the very end, Senator Stern calls for a photographer and this guy jumps in front of the crowd to take a picture. I swear that was Tobey Maguire. I know, probably wrong…