Iron Man 2
by Cheeto
Posted on 23 December 2021
Rating -
Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the sequel to Iron Man (2008) and the third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson. Six months after Iron Man, Tony Stark resists calls from the United States government to hand over the Iron Man technology, which is causing his declining health. Meanwhile, Russian scientist Ivan Vanko (Rourke) uses his own version of the technology to pursue a vendetta against the Stark family.
Iron Man 2 is a very odd film, in the sense that; It’s one of my least watched films in the entire MCU. I have watched it enough though to confidently make a some-what in depth review.
First off, I think that Robert Downey Jr. puts in a competent shift as Tony Stark, not as good as the first film, but as we’ll soon come to know, this is a very common theme. Like I said, even though he isn’t as good in this second film as the first, a not as good Tony Stark is still brilliant to watch, and it’s at no fault of Robert Downey Jr. Speaking of great performances, I think that Sam Rockwell is a much welcomed edition, he plays Justin Hammer with such ease, I suppose this is a given with the acting ability Sam Rockwell possesses.
Both actors are great on their own, they’re even better on-screen together. I like the direction Favreau goes with the story of this film. Its great to see the rivalry between Tony and Justin, and like I said before, you know what you’re going to get with Robert Downey Jr. and Sam Rockwell, and that is great performances. Tony and Justin, as rival weapons manufacturers, Tony is very much ‘in the lead’, an it tended to be very one sided, Tony didn’t see Justin as much of a threat. This makes for a great watch, we get to see Sam Rockwell approach Justin as a jealous manbaby, this of course, leads to many Marvel trademarked laughs.
Going fully into Justin Hammer, he wants to replicate Tony’s suit tech, thus selling it to the military for that sweet sweet wonga, this is against the wishes of Tony. This makes Justin look forlorn, and almost desperate. His lack of morality and comprehension of the risks also make him dangerous.
I think that Don Cheadle is good as War Machine, we really get to see his and Tony’s friendship flourish, and we also get to see him don his silver suit for the first time. I like the introduction of both Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson, as Nick Fury and Natasha Romanov respectively. The film builds them both to be mysterious, and we get the first real mentions of this thing called The Avengers.
I think this film has some great action scenes, although it’s nothing that we haven’t seen before, it still makes for a really good watch.
Now the positives sadly end there, like I said, this film isn’t the best (sorry).
Starting with my single gripe about this film, Ivan Vanko… Picture this, you get in a world-class actor hot off of a hit film, Micky Rourke, and you give him a role like this. Was he a great choice? yes. Like I said, Mickey Rourke was hot off of The Wrestler, a film which quite literally revived his career, and fully showed the world what a world-class actor he actually is. It’s just unfortunate that he got given a poorly written character. Now, it was always going to be an uphill battle, I mean Whiplash isn’t necessarily a household character, but that shouldn’t be an excuse. Speaking of the poor writing, we get him at the start of the film, we learn that he is Russian, and of course loves Vodka. Like ok, cool? That’s brilliant character development… I also think that his motives in this film are just laughable. For those of you who don’t know, he wants to prove to the world that Iron Man can be defeated, like I don’t even know how this film was green-lit. I just hate it, because he could’ve been so great.
Overall, I almost feel sorry for this film. It showcases some great ideas, but fails to explore or showcase them in a way that is up to par, especially the antagonist. I think that it still should be watched, but reign in your expectations.
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