Iron Man 2

Synopsis

Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes) returns as Tony Stark, an extremely wealthy industrialist and engineer, also known as the superhero Iron Man. Iron Man 2 is the sequel to Iron Man based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. In the second film, Stark is countered against Whiplash (Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler), his Russian arch adversary, and corporate rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell).

Review

This is a solid action film with explosives and bright colors that are great on the big screen. There's fresh technology and fantastic special effects. Iron Man 2 (IM2) combines some sizzling talent and faster paced scenes that kept me in engage. There are a lot of great bells and whistles in IM2, but I really liked IM1 better. I feel there just isn’t that same spark there was in the 1st film. After 30 minutes in the first IM, it seemed like there was a finished movie with a great story that had a beginning middle and end and the story just kept getting better until the end of the picture. I was extremely impressed.

IM2 picks up a good six months after the first film left off. Tony Stark (Robert Downy Jr., Sherlock Holmes) has revealed he is the mighty Iron Man keeping world peace. The government isn’t feeling that. They want him to turn over his iron suit because it’s a weapon. We all know that Stark Industries is one of the main weapons manufacturers for our military, so, they want the suit and they feel like it's a danger and could fall into the wrong hands or someone else could emulate it.

One of Stark’s shady business rivals Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell, Fost/Nixon) wants the attention that Stark receives from the people and the government. And, Tony also has to deal with a major villain named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler) who thinks the Starks are nothing but a family of thieves and are the cause of his family’s demise. Homedude wants straight up revenge.

IM2 has a really hot cast. Of course our boy Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark as perfectly as we all saw him do from the 1st IM movie. He’s funny, intelligent, completely narcissistic and out of control, but you just love him. He’s absolutely quirky and cute.

Tony Stark’s buddy Lt Colonel James “Rodey Rhodes” got him self a face change or something because we all know Terrance Howard played the part in the first film and got replaced with Don Cheadle (Traitor). I’m not 100% sure why it happened, rumors of Director John Favreau (Couple’s Retreat) not liking working with Howard or Howard not liking being offered a paycut. Heck, Howard might not have even known he was being replaced until he found out Cheadle accepted an offer to play the role. Mmm. Regardless, I would have said “YES” too if I was Cheadle. This is what you call BLOCKBUSTER and he did well.

Mickie Rourke is always such a believable actor. He’s truly excellent and he has a thick Russian accent going on in this movie. I actually would have like to see him even more as the villain he played. I was disappointed with the face-off between the villain and superhero at the end. It’s just too short. Come on now. Can I get some kind of long showdown, get down or beat down...something? I don't want a right then a left and that's it.

Scarlett Johansson (He’s Just Not that Into You) is a little cutie. She played one searing character that could rumble with the best of them. She was a smart added touch even if she wasn’t first choice. Samuel L. Jackson (Lakeview Terrace) as Nick Fury, well we all know he brings the crazy eyes or eye with him. There’s just something about him that always makes me smile and I’m sure we’ll be seeing him in a lot of upcoming Marvel films as Nick Fury.

Sam Rockwell, as Hammer was very good. His facial expressions, body and hand movements, everything about him made me laugh and also want to slap, but dang, Rockwell really does his part and I think he’s a really solid actor. There was something I noticed while watching him; he could have been Tony Stark. Perhaps it was the billionaire, CEO, egomaniac kind of status thing going on. Nevertheless, he was comical.

IM2 has action, adventure, a good villain and great understanding of who Ivan Vanko is and why he wants revenge. Favreau’s directing is fine and his acting scenes in his reprised role as Happy Hogan, Tony Stark's bodyguard and chauffer are humorous.

As a sequel, IM2 doesn’t dissatisfy. It’s not better than the 1st one; however, it is still quite entertaining and exciting. As far as the story goes and timing of scenes, I feel that it just didn’t quite reach my expectations. If you really enjoyed Iron Man, than check out Iron Man 2.

My Rating ~ 3 Reels

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