Iron Man 2

• Directed by Jon Favreau
• April 26, 2010 (El Capitan Theatre) / May 7, 2010 (US)
• Based on Iron Man created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby

With his technology slowly killing him, Tony rejects government demands to share it while facing a Russian scientist bent on revenge.

Iron Man 2 is a good sequel though a film not as unique as its predecessor. One thing that helps it stand out is the casting of Mickey Rourke as the villain Ivan Vanko/Whiplash though the character is a bit of Crimson Dynamo. He brought to his part as much personality as RDJ did to his with the scenes between RDJ and Mickey Rourke show Downey was outclassed. Rourke, despite his issues and a penchant for plastic surgery, has a visceral talent that is difficult to outshine in even garbage.

Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark does what he did in Iron Man meaning here he is still not quite the plot device he would often become in later films. Tony is facing his own mortality because the technology that initially saved him is now poisoning his blood with palladium and his story is a desperate search for something to use to keep him alive. Why he doesn’t just engage in some surgery to remove the metal fragments if he’s going to die anyway I don’t know. Was he so addicted to the power/idea of Iron Man that he would not give it up? Not sure.

One thing that becomes clear is that Tony Stark’s search for an alternative material that wouldn’t poison his blood would’ve been a lot faster if Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) had just come out and told him everything rather than string him along. He knows Tony‘s father at least figured out what to use even if it was never synthesized. He wants or needs Tony in some fashion, but he’s jerking the guy around for an extended period rather than coming in right out and giving him information. I understand Nick Fury is supposed to be a government agent but his actions hindered his own goals!

Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) and Tony are polar opposites. Tony is intelligent, charming, and a smooth talker. Justin Hammer is a poser and opportunist. Everything he wishes he was Tony is. Hammer is clearly intended to be a bit of a threat but the way he is characterize he’s a bit of a moron. It is to the point you’re kind of wondering how he was able to get control of a company and might be smart enough to do anything. It greatly undermines so much. This is the antithesis of the Justin Hammer of the comics.

I still prefer Terrence Howard over Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine. There’s nothing wrong with Don Cheadle but there was just something more appropriate and more military about Terrence Howard when he performed. He got the loyal friend part right more often too. Cheadle comes off to me as the pal you party with or can be a bit of a pill.

Iron Man 2 began/continued the trend of packing an MCU film with characters beyond the core ones from whatever title they were drawing inspiration from. Back in the day in comics the Spider-Man titles generally had their own cast of characters and Iron Man had its own cast of characters and so on. There was occasionally some crossover but not so much that it made the world feel small.

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) did intersect from time to time with Iron Man but she wasn’t a major player in his storylines with any consistency. That muddling of the lives is a fairly recent development in comics and one I’m not entirely happy with. Her presence and general introduction took up a good chunk of time in the movie and she didn’t have too much in story to do. At least nothing that majorly impacted the narrative.

The same goes for the presence of Colson (Clark Gregg). He minded Tony Stark at Fury’s order and then went away to New Mexico presumably to the first Thor movie. His actions could have been covered in their entirety by the lineless flunky that replaced him being that Tony’s dialogue with Colson was fairly one-sided.

In a nod to how superheroics and real-world aspects intertwine in the comics, the Senate hearing and Senator Stern (Garry Shandling) was a nice touch. He is the cynical politician that exaggerates issues in order to get a win rather than simply present the truth or solve a true issue. He is freaking out over some country getting their own Iron Man armor and not one is even remotely close. Shandling brought the right level of a-hole and opportunist trying to score political points to his little bit. The moment when Stern stuck Tony with the pin was just the cherry on top of it all.

This has moments of the now patented Marvel humor which can undermine the danger of a situation. Humor when appropriate can be good and quite appropriate but when it gets too jokey or occurs too frequently it blunts what should be exciting for and thrilling. Vanko gets dangerous and Hammer (who should be an old English man) does something stupid or is clueless that Vanko is clearly up to something.

Watching the movies a few years apart this may not cross your mind but if you watch them close together like I did you may ask yourself how did Rhodey master the suit right away and Tony had a serious learning curve with it when he tried on just pieces. Rhodey puts it on and is able to give Tony a beat down. Drunk or not, the man that has been using it regularly for six months and should have done better than the first timer.

The story does keep moving with few dead spots. Jon Favreau was the ideal choice for director. Despite additional (and superfluous) characters he kept it a very distinct world from the rest of Marvel while also managing to tie it into the larger MCU. The story just isn’t nearly as well built as Iron Man. There are much more instances for superhero stuff just for the sake of having superhero stuff rather than to tell the story.

I did enjoy Iron Man 2. It was exciting and cool even if it was flawed. It managed to contribute to the Iron Man cinematic mythos while also building the larger MCU.