The Summer blockbuster season has arrived with the arrival of a dude in a tin can suit and another dude with electric whips. The eagerly awaited sequel to Iron Man, aptly called Iron Man 2 has arrived in cinemas. The original was great with a particularly impressive performance from Robert Downey Jr. So can history repeat itself, or more so, can Jon Favreau bottle lighting again?
This time round Tony Stark (after announcing he is Iron Man in the last movie) is not only Mr. Super cool and super rich but he is also a huge celebrity. He has aged a bit and has even more arrogance than ever before. All is well in the land of Stark, except that his “heart”, you know the big light bulb thing in his chest, is slowly killing him through toxicity in his blood. Each super hero needs a super villain and Iron Man 2 has got one seriously bad ass super villain, namely Whiplash, played by Mickey Rourke. Whiplash is out for revenge for what he claims the Starks done to his family years ago. So he goes off and engineers his own weaponry, and this comes in the guise of gigantic, electric whips. All powered by a similar unit that powers Iron Man’s suit.
Tony Stark’s corporate Nemesis, Justin Hammer (who’s also in the weapons game) see’s potential in utilising Whiplash against Stark, after seeing Whiplash take on old shell head in a grand prix in Monaco. And I’m not talking about a race. I’m talking about grand prix cars being sliced in 2 by electric whips, and Jon Favreau driving a Phantom (thanks Nit Pick) the wrong way down the race track!
Ultimately Hammer wants the money and the glory and all Whiplash wants is Tony Stark’s head on a plate.
Robert Downey Jr. oozes so much charisma in this movie, I’m surprised they didn’t have somebody to wipe him down every 5 minutes. He is completely absorbed as Tony Stark and looks like he genuinely enjoys the role. The fast talking, suave and sophisticated billionaire was at 10 in the last movie. For the sequel, Downey Jr. has turned it up to 11. Incredibly watchable and even though in the first half, he is incredibly arrogant, the subtle transformation he goes through for the movie is brilliantly done. Don Cheadle replaces Terrance Howard as Rhodey and he does take a bit of time to get into the role and it’s only near the end that he fits the role quite well. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as the insatiable Pepper Potts and this time round, much like Downey Jr. her performance is also turned up a notch as well. It’s a stark contrast compared to her last performance in the original, whilst adequate, was a bit one dimensional.
Sam Rockwell plays Justin Hammer superbly here as well. His “I want to like Tony Stark” persona is one of the highlights of the movie. He has an awkwardness that is something only an accomplished actor can bring to the table. Even Scarlett Johansson does a good job here. Sultry and sexy, she has a great screen presence. Jon Favreau, has given himself far more screen time as Happy Hogan, and to be fair to the director, he does a stand up job, literally! But the real star of Iron Man 2, is M ickey Rourke. His performance of Whiplash is described in one word, and no more, and that is Brilliant! You know its Mickey Rourke, but his performance makes him unrecognisable, in a recognisable way…if that makes any sense. And lets not forget (Christ there's alot of big names here) Sam Jackson as Nick Fury, who does what he does very well, albeit he is on screen for a limited amount of time. And finally we have the brilliant Gary Chandling as Senator Stern, who has the best line in the whole movie at the very end!
Iron Man 2 clocks in around 2 hours and at times, some of the dialogue can make it feel a little bit longer than it is. Obviously the dialogue is setting up other Marvel movies, but I would have much preferred a little bit less, but that is only a tiny gripe. Action wise, Iron Man 2 delivers this in big wads. Set pieces are far and few between, but when they happen, boy do they happen. And these aren’t short set pieces either, the action scenes go on for quite some time and are superbly shot, edited and produced. If your looking for a rush, then Iron Man 2 will deliver what you crave. If I had to nit pick here, I would have loved to have had more of Mickey Rourke on screen and as for the predictable end fight, well it could have gone on for a bit longer to be honest. It’s not perfect and the flaws don’t detract from the overall experience. Jon Favreau has delivered yet again and Iron Man 2 is bigger, better and louder than the first one and is thoroughly enjoyable and a must watch!!! And yes, sit through the credits!
This time round Tony Stark (after announcing he is Iron Man in the last movie) is not only Mr. Super cool and super rich but he is also a huge celebrity. He has aged a bit and has even more arrogance than ever before. All is well in the land of Stark, except that his “heart”, you know the big light bulb thing in his chest, is slowly killing him through toxicity in his blood. Each super hero needs a super villain and Iron Man 2 has got one seriously bad ass super villain, namely Whiplash, played by Mickey Rourke. Whiplash is out for revenge for what he claims the Starks done to his family years ago. So he goes off and engineers his own weaponry, and this comes in the guise of gigantic, electric whips. All powered by a similar unit that powers Iron Man’s suit.
Tony Stark’s corporate Nemesis, Justin Hammer (who’s also in the weapons game) see’s potential in utilising Whiplash against Stark, after seeing Whiplash take on old shell head in a grand prix in Monaco. And I’m not talking about a race. I’m talking about grand prix cars being sliced in 2 by electric whips, and Jon Favreau driving a Phantom (thanks Nit Pick) the wrong way down the race track!
Ultimately Hammer wants the money and the glory and all Whiplash wants is Tony Stark’s head on a plate.
Robert Downey Jr. oozes so much charisma in this movie, I’m surprised they didn’t have somebody to wipe him down every 5 minutes. He is completely absorbed as Tony Stark and looks like he genuinely enjoys the role. The fast talking, suave and sophisticated billionaire was at 10 in the last movie. For the sequel, Downey Jr. has turned it up to 11. Incredibly watchable and even though in the first half, he is incredibly arrogant, the subtle transformation he goes through for the movie is brilliantly done. Don Cheadle replaces Terrance Howard as Rhodey and he does take a bit of time to get into the role and it’s only near the end that he fits the role quite well. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as the insatiable Pepper Potts and this time round, much like Downey Jr. her performance is also turned up a notch as well. It’s a stark contrast compared to her last performance in the original, whilst adequate, was a bit one dimensional.
Sam Rockwell plays Justin Hammer superbly here as well. His “I want to like Tony Stark” persona is one of the highlights of the movie. He has an awkwardness that is something only an accomplished actor can bring to the table. Even Scarlett Johansson does a good job here. Sultry and sexy, she has a great screen presence. Jon Favreau, has given himself far more screen time as Happy Hogan, and to be fair to the director, he does a stand up job, literally! But the real star of Iron Man 2, is M ickey Rourke. His performance of Whiplash is described in one word, and no more, and that is Brilliant! You know its Mickey Rourke, but his performance makes him unrecognisable, in a recognisable way…if that makes any sense. And lets not forget (Christ there's alot of big names here) Sam Jackson as Nick Fury, who does what he does very well, albeit he is on screen for a limited amount of time. And finally we have the brilliant Gary Chandling as Senator Stern, who has the best line in the whole movie at the very end!
Iron Man 2 clocks in around 2 hours and at times, some of the dialogue can make it feel a little bit longer than it is. Obviously the dialogue is setting up other Marvel movies, but I would have much preferred a little bit less, but that is only a tiny gripe. Action wise, Iron Man 2 delivers this in big wads. Set pieces are far and few between, but when they happen, boy do they happen. And these aren’t short set pieces either, the action scenes go on for quite some time and are superbly shot, edited and produced. If your looking for a rush, then Iron Man 2 will deliver what you crave. If I had to nit pick here, I would have loved to have had more of Mickey Rourke on screen and as for the predictable end fight, well it could have gone on for a bit longer to be honest. It’s not perfect and the flaws don’t detract from the overall experience. Jon Favreau has delivered yet again and Iron Man 2 is bigger, better and louder than the first one and is thoroughly enjoyable and a must watch!!! And yes, sit through the credits!
