Review of Iron Man 2 (2010) by David V — 07 Mar 2015

3/7/15.

After going less realistic with The Incredible Hulk, Marvel Studios returns to the story of Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.). This time, instead of a straightforward fight against terrorism, and redemption, we get a straightforward fight against an over controlling Senator Stern (Garry Schandling) as well as redemption. However, despite the reasonable pacing, this installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe follows smaller subplots that are more difficult to follow, and is not as Avengers-foreshadowing as the internet says it is. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shows up, but Iron Man 2 is really about Tony continuing to try and repair the damage his father did in weapons. Wow, that did not make much sense, proves my point. Despite the lack of sense and clarity, Tony is still relatable: We all have something that haunts us. Some of us won't admit it, but we do. Do not expect much character development, due to the simplistic nature of this film. It is very hard to care for a character or characters when we go in more directions than we should. Where Iron Man appears, the Iron Man suit is very well done in the CG. There is less Iron Man action though, which is ironic, since the suits are all built by now. There are also great references to a greater Marvel Universe, one referencing a man presumed dead, another showcasing where a film we know is part of Phase 3 is home to a certain prince. There is still reference to MCU films more imminent back in 2010. John Debney does an adequate job replacing Ramin Djwadi for the soundtrack, maintaining the techno tracks needed to commentate on the robotic nature of Iron Man, and AC/DC helps bring the heavy metal. Iron Man 2 is probably the funniest film in the MCU, not for its character development, mostly its occasional sight gag, though there is still clever humor in the Stan Lee cameo. Here's to killing time until Avengers, in a less realistic, visually impressive, almost senseless way.

4/21/12.

Iron Man 2 is an excellent sequel to Iron Man, and kicks as much shiny ass as the first one (and more). Secrets about Tony's father are revealed, as well as more plotline to The Avengers coming this May. Altogether, Iron Man 2 is a great sequel to Iron Man, about the aftermath of Tony Stark revealing that he is Iron Man.