Review of Iron Man 2 (2010) by Ben B — 04 Jun 2016

Iron Man 2 once again stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a billionaire who designed the Iron Man suit and has to adjust to life as a superhero after revealing to the world at the end of the first film that he is indeed the man in the suit.

A lot of people don't really care for this installment because of the expectations set by the first movie, but I really like Iron Man 2. It definitely is a step backwards from Iron Man, but that isn't saying much considering how great Iron Man was.

Robert Downey Jr. continues to personify Tony Stark to a tee, and his inter-struggle was a very good focal point of the movie. I also really liked how his relationships progressed from the first movie.

We finally see Tony and Pepper (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) acknowledge their relationship and go through their own struggles. Rhodes, played by Don Cheadle (a major upgrade from Terrance Howard in my opinion), struggles between his duties as a military officer and his friendship with Tony.

The action sequences in this movie are great for the most part. There is a scene during a car race that didn't feel very genuine (I won't get into spoilers), but the message it gave paid off. I really liked Mickey Rourke as Whiplash in this movie.

We see his motives as a villain and understand why he has a personal vendetta against Tony. However, I did not like Sam Rockwell's villain, Justin Hammer. The motives of Hammer didn't make sense - he uses Whiplash to build tech for him because he's jealous of Tony? That seems a little far-fetched.

All-in-all, Iron Man 2 is a solid installment in the franchise, and, while it doesn't quite meet the standard set by its predecessor, it holds its own as a superhero flick.