When Marvel Studios announced that the first movie it would be self-producing was a live-action adaptation of the
Iron Man comic books, many questioned the wisdom of the move. After all, Marvel Studios had found considerable success co-producing the
Spider-Man and
X-Men movies, among others, so why take the risk of going it alone? Add to this the fact that Iron Man was a character which, at the time, had little name recognition outside of the comic book world, and a director,
Jon Favreau, whose previous two movies—
Elf and
Zathura—were formulaic children's fare, and the prospects of
Iron Man making more than a ripple in the increasingly crowded comic book movie marketplace were slim and none.
Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, we now know that Favreau's unconventional directing style, coupled with a tight plot but loose script, and the eclectic casting of
Robert Downey, Jr. in the lead role, added up to a
box office smash that appealed as much to non-comic book fans as to the difficult-to-please fanboy community. Heck, even
the critics fell in love with
Iron Man.
With
Iron Man a success on so many levels, it's hard to imagine
Iron Man 2 could be its equal, let alone surpass it in any category. After all, franchise sequels are notorious for being pale imitations of the original. There are only a handful in the long history of cinema that are considered superior—
The Empire Strikes Back and
Godfather II come to mind—but
Iron Man 2 should now be considered a member of that elite group. Despite committing the classic superhero movie pitfall of adding multiple new characters, Favreau and screenwriter
Justin Theroux manage to weave their introductions and character arcs together in such a way that, instead of following numerous storylines, the movie is broken down into an easy-to-follow
good guys team vs.
bad guys team plot that still manages to be filled with subtle, nuanced performances and satisfying character arcs. Combined with a soundtrack that hits every beat and special effects far more polished than in the original,
Iron Man 2 is the new standard by which future Marvel Studios productions will be measured.
When last we met Tony Stark (Downey, Jr.), he had announced to the world that he was, in fact, Iron Man. That seemingly simple act flies in the face of decades of comic book canon, which states that safeguarding one's secret identity is essential for protecting the hero as well as the hero's loved ones. It also becomes the driving plot point of
Iron Man 2 as Tony must now deal with the real-world ramifications of such a revelation becoming public knowledge. As
Iron Man 2 opens, we find that he is being assaulted on all sides. His company is hemorrhaging money because of his refusal to produce weapons and his general lack of interest in running it, the government is trying to classify the Iron Man suit as a weapon of mass destruction, and his own body is starting to reject the arc reactor that is keeping him alive. When Stark was faced with death in a desert cave in the previous movie, he dug down deep inside of himself and found that there was a slumbering hero lurking within. However, when faced with the news that his own technology is killing him in
Iron Man 2, Tony takes a decidedly different path and picks up the bottle. Downey, Jr.'s portrayal of a hero looking into the abyss of eternity and discovering his own frailty is so believable that you don't become angered by his failures, you suffer along with him, feeling the desperation, loneliness and embarrassment that he feels as his friends, his company, and even his own health slip away from him.
The expression "reap what you sow" comes to mind when considering Tony Stark's enemies. To quote
Mickey Rourke's character, Ivan Vanko, aka Whiplash, "there's blood in the water" as Stark's enemies smell his weakness and begin circling like sharks. Rourke, who flew himself to Russia and spent time with hardened criminals to learn about prison culture, tattoos and how to convincingly speak Russian, turns in one of the great villainous performances in comic book movie history. His body language, speech pattern and facial expressions just scream menace, yet he manages to cast the character in a sympathetic light at times. The son of Anton Vanko (
Yevgeni Lazarev), who helped Tony's father, Howard Stark (
John Slattery), develop the arc reactor technology in the first place, Ivan blames Tony for his father's death and wants revenge. The exhilarating Monaco race track fight between Whiplash and Iron Man is the "first cut" that starts the Stark feeding frenzy.
Just as Ivan/Whiplash represents Stark's past come back to haunt him, Justin Hammer (
Sam Rockwell) represents the repercussions of Stark's present actions. As gripping as Rourke's performance is as Whiplash, Rockwell steals nearly every scene he is in as a man desperate to not only step out of the long shadow cast by Stark, but to become the man casting the shadow. When Stark Industries stopped supplying the military with advanced weaponry, Hammer Industries stepped in to fill the void. But, like most substitutes, Hammer and his products are simply no match for the real deal. When Stark embarrasses him in front of a worldwide audience, Hammer pulls out all of the stops to try to take down his would-be friend and mentor, ultimately allying himself with Whiplash. Vanko, a superior inventor to Hammer, perhaps on a par with Stark himself, takes over Hammer's production facility and begins changing Hammer's failed Iron Man armor copies into robotic drones. Despite being a pathetic, smarmy little wannabe, you can't help but feel sorry for Hammer as he begins to realize that he has made a deal with the devil.
Even as Tony is being set upon by his enemies, he is becoming increasingly alienated from the few friends that he does have. His reckless behavior has driven his faithful assistant, Pepper Potts (
Gwyneth Paltrow), to contemplate quitting, and put him at odds with his straight-laced military friend, James "Rhodey" Rhodes (
Don Cheadle). Paltrow seems more comfortable and confident sharing the screen with Downey, Jr. in the sequel than she did in the first movie, and it shines through on screen. Cheadle delivers his usual quality performance, but there's just too little of him in
Iron Man 2 to strongly connect with his character, especially in light of some of the things that he does to our hero and his so-called friend.
Meanwhile, Nick Fury (
Samuel L. Jackson) and S.H.I.E.L.D., who have been secretly monitoring Stark through a mole implanted in his organization, step out of the shadows to intervene on his behalf. Fury places Stark under house arrest to prevent the government from flat-out storming his home and seizing his technology, and offers Stark a temporary solution to his health problem, along with a chest of materials left behind by Howard Stark that Tony hopes will provide him with some answers about his past, present and future. Jackson's Fury is one of the few disappointments in the movie, though that has more to do with the part as it was written than with his performance. A man of action and intensity in the comic books, the Fury seen in
Iron Man 2 is more of a counselor and glorified cheerleader.
Scarlett Johansson, as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanov—I would call her the Black Widow, but she's never referred to by that codename in the movie—adds the bite and sizzle that is lacking from S.H.I.E.L.D. as personified by Jackson's Fury. Johansson was one of the more questionable new additions to the
Iron Man 2 cast, but her performance should quell any lingering doubts about her committal to the role and her ability to convincingly portray one of the deadliest spies in the Marvel Universe.
Ultimately, Tony must overcome his many fears and failings if he is going to save the day from the combined one-two punch of Whiplash and Justin Hammer, but he must also come to grips with the fact that he can't go it alone anymore because the stakes are just too high. The climactic final showdown takes place on Stark's home turf, the site of the Stark Expo, as much a monument to his father's success as to his own. A splendid orgy of rocket-powered excess, the final battle rises to a crescendo and then slowly fizzles out, which is the one disappointing aspect of the entire movie. Even so,
Iron Man 2 leaves you feeling proud of your hero and hopeful for his future, even as the dreadful realization sinks in that it will be a couple more years before you'll get to see where life has taken him in
Iron Man 3.
Of course, there's always
The Avengers, in which Iron Man is sure to play a key role, and there's also hope that he'll pop up in
Thor or
The First Avenger: Captain America.
I give this movie the highest possible rating, five "Shellheads" out of five. If you like comic books and comic book movies, you're going to love
Iron Man 2!
If you've heard all you want to hear about the movie, stop reading now. However, if you just
have to get to the bottom of some of those questions that have been nagging you, then highlight the blank space below to reveal some additional information. Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS!
1) The much-hyped addition of fan-favorite Olivia Munn has had fans speculating for months about what Marvel Comics character she will be playing, with everyone from the Wasp to the Scarlet Witch being bandied about. Unfortunately (or, fortunately, depending upon how you feel about the Attack of the Show! co-host), Munn plays the highly unimportant role of Chess Roberts, reporter.
2) Fans have been clamoring for "Demon in a Bottle," arguably the most important storyline in the long history of the Iron Man comic book, to have an influence on the movies. While not as dark or intense as the storyline in the comic books, fans will be happy to know that there are elements of the "Demon" in Iron Man 2. When Stark realizes that he may very well be celebrating his last birthday, he asks the Black Widow what she would do if it was her last. When she tells him that she would do whatever she wanted to do, Stark takes her advice to heart and gets stinking drunk at his party…while wearing his Iron Man armor! He dances, poorly, and has scantily clad women toss things in the air for him to blast with his repulsors. Also echoing the "Demon" storyline that saw Rhodey taking over as Iron Man, Rhodey decides that Tony has had enough and attempts to forcibly detain him by donning the Mark II armor. In the aftermath of the birthday party fight, Rhodey steals the armor, turning it over to the military. In turn, the military turns it over to Hammer, who outfits it with his Hammer tech. Thus, War Machine is born.
3) Thor cameo? Sorry, that long-haired dude in the French prison is just that, a long-haired dude in a French prison. If it is an Easter egg, then they did too good of a job of hiding it.
4) Captain America? We all saw Cap's shield in Tony's lab in the first Iron Man. Well, it's back in Iron Man 2. Only, this time it's actually referred to and handled by Stark. Tony treats it with the kind of irreverence that we have come to expect from him, but the "tech" look of it was very disappointing to me as a longtime comic book fan. I know that Favreau's thing is basing everything on technology to make it as believable as possible, but you just don't mess with Cap's shield. It reminded me more of the energy shield that Cap used for a while in the comics while his adamantium-vibranium alloy shield was lost in the depths of the ocean. Oh, yeah, there's also a copy of the first issue of Captain America in Howard Stark's trunk. Could Tony have inherited Cap's shield from his father? Will Howard Stark turn up in The First Avenger: Captain America? How about Fury? He knew Howard Stark personally, was he also around during Cap's glory days? We'll have to wait and see on those points.
5) Hulk? I didn't catch any references to the Hulk in the movie, but Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige said that there is one toward the end of the movie and a colleague told me to look out for the blueprints to the sonic canons seen in The Incredible Hulk. Personally, I can't verify this information.
6) Crimson Dynamo? Yes, Whiplash does get his very own suit of armor at the end of the Stark Expo fight sequence. It's massive, with two sets of arms and long, powerful whips. The armor has a cool helmet, but Whiplash quickly discards it. However, it's not red and it could just as easily be Titanium Man as Crimson Dynamo. Unfortunately, this is the one disappointing part of the movie. Tony and Rhodey simply defeat him too quickly.
7) The Avengers? At the end of the movie, Stark sees a folder that says "Avengers Initiative" on it. But, before he can open it up and have a look at it, Fury stops him. Apparently, the Black Widow has been testing and evaluating Tony the entire time. Her recommendation? Yes, to Iron Man in the Avengers Initiative. No, to Tony Stark in the Iron Man armor. What does that mean? Will they try to replace Tony? Will War Machine be in The Avengers and not Iron Man? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe he has to prove himself first…
8) End-of-credits scene? Sadly, there was no end-of-credits scene in the screening that I saw. However, I have been assured that there is a scene, and that it ties into the Thor movie!
'Nuff said!
Release Date: May 7, 2010
Distributor: Paramount
Genre: Action/Adventure
Sub-Genre: Superhero
Runtime: 2:05
MPAA Rating: PG-13