Review of Iron Man 2 (2010) by Richard L — 04 Sep 2014

Iron Man 2 is asked to do do more than just continue the adventures of Tony Stark and his suit; the movie is also setting up the larger Marvel universe that includes S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Widow, Thor, Captain America, and the Avengers Initiative. In a lesser film juggling so much exposition and mythology would have caused collapse. Iron Man 2 manages, there there are moments when it seems about to come crashing down. What helps, I think, is the smart core story, and questions about Stark's responsibilities now that he has come out as Iron Man. There is also development of his relationship with Pepper Potts, which fortunately manages to avoid most of the tropes of these relationships in superhero movies. Potts only needs saving once, and otherwise manages to be there over and over again for Stark when he needs to be saved.

Don Cheadle steps in smoothly as Lt. Rhodes and plays a much bigger role with more moments to shine. Sam Rockwell is hysterical as the weasel Justin Hammer. Scarlett Johansson's introduction and mystery is fantastic and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson shine as their characters begin to play a larger role in the larger universe. Finally, Mickey Rourke is a worthy villain given some depth and unexpected humor.

I think Iron Man 2 plays much better now than it did when it was first released in theaters because it now fits into a series of several movies as part of a universe Iron Man 2 was responsible for setting up. Now that we know what was to come, Iron Man 2 simple makes more sense as part of the franchise.