Iron Man 2 (2010)

“Iron Man 2” is one of the least popular MCU movies. It’s widely criticised for its jumbled plot (which is more focused on setting up “Avengers Assemble” than telling a good story) and its weak villain. Whilst it didn’t infuriate as many comic book fans as “Iron Man 3” did, this certainly isn’t a beloved entry in the wider Marvel universe.

I’ll be honest, I thoroughly enjoy “Iron Man 2”; I don’t ignore its faults, but I have a blast with this movie every time I re-watch it. It’s not as brilliant as its predecessor or as daring as its successor, but “Iron Man 2” is still incredibly entertaining!

First up, the cast all bring energy and enthusiasm to their roles, not one actor phones-in their performance. Robert Downey Jr. is just as magnetic and hilarious as he was in the first film. The script here gives Downey more range for him to display his many acting abilities; from an excellent court scene that hangs on Downey’s rapid-fire one-liners to the more serious moments, Robert Downey Jr. owns every scene he’s in. I will never tire of watching him on screen as Tony Stark, I don’t care if he just plays himself, he is (in my opinion) the greatest live-action incarnation of a superhero in all of cinema.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts is probably one of the better MCU love-interests; she has great chemistry with Downey, which makes Tony and Pepper’s relationship more realistic.

Don Cheadle replaced Terrance Howard as Rhodey in this film after a disagreement over his million-dollar contract ended Howard’s relationship with Marvel. Although it’s interesting to imagine Terrance Howard in, say, “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, I definitely prefer Don Cheadle’s Rhodey. He felt more suited to the part and had much better banter with Downey (“I think it's weird. You look like two seals fighting over a grape.”)

The new members of the cast are also extremely good. Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer is both funny and unbearably aggravating. I can’t tell whether I love or hate this character but I absolutely want to see him crop up again (he appeared very briefly in the Marvel One-Shot “All Hail the King.”)

Mickey Rourke is effective as Whiplash, he may be one of the MCU’s least developed antagonists but Rourke brings a charisma to the part that keeps him interesting (“This is not my bird.”)

What is arguably the biggest addition to the MCU in “Iron Man 2” is the introduction of Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson. Although this isn’t the most efficient use of the character (I much preferred her inclusion in the superior Marvel sequel, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”), Johansson is still great here. It’s insane that Black Widow hasn’t gotten a solo movie yet (although one is on the horizon) because she is absolutely one of the MCUs best heroes. You can’t watch the hallway fight scene at the end of the film and not want to see a whole movie based on her!

Speaking of action, “Iron Man 2” has some of the most exhilarating set-pieces in the “Iron Man” Trilogy. The drunken house party punch-up between Tony and Rhodey is super fun and the third act climax in which Iron Man and War Machine stand back-to-back to battle the Hammer drones is epic!

But hands down the best sequence in the entire film is the Racetrack spectacular. This scene is so AWESOME on so many levels, it’s shot stunningly, the effects are eye-widening (it’s baffling that the Mark 5 suit from 2010 looks better than the Mark 50 in 2018) and the music helps really ramp up the indescribable incredibleness! This is also the sequence that started the trend (and my obsession with) the Iron Man suit-up scenes. The moment when the Mark 5 leaves the suitcase and forms over Tony is one of the all-time coolest movie moments ever, nothing as awe-inspiring or magnificent will ever be put to film ever again (apart from the 360 degree shot of the Avengers assembling in “Avengers Assemble!”) Whether Tony uses the spinning rings to don the Mark 6 or calls the Mark 42 to him with the magnets in his wrist, I love watching the new and creative ways that the filmmakers of the MCU come up with to show Stark suiting up!

Finally on the positives, the soundtrack for “Iron Man 2” is amazing. I’m not talking about John Debney’s score (which is much less memorable than Ramin Djawadi’s work on “Iron Man” one), I’m talking about the AC DC album that was released with Iron Man on the cover. I can attest that giving a six-year-old Marvel nerd an AC DC album with Iron Man and War Machine on the front cover is not the best idea ever. When I was but a wee lad we were in the midst of the Dark Ages, where “Iron Man 2” was the first MCU movie in two years. So, starved for new content, this CD (that was simply a reissue of old songs to cash-in on the film’s popularity) was something new and exciting. Let’s just say that the neighbours weren’t too happy…

The only major issue I have with “Iron Man 2” is it’s over-stuffed plot, it feels like a trilogy’s worth of stories all crammed into one film. Ivan Vanko is on a mission to kill Tony Stark, the government wants the Iron Man suits, Justin Hammer wants to destroy Stark’s legacy, Tony’s arc reactor is poisoning him, S.H.I.E.L.D wants to recruit Iron Man for the Avengers, Black Widow is introduced, War Machine debuts, Tony needs to create a new element to save himself from the palladium poisoning whilst also dealing with his daddy issues and, and, and…!

The problem here isn’t that any one particular storyline is bad (they’re all decent, the scenes in which Tony has to evaluate his relationship with his father were particularly well acted and well written), it’s just that there’s too much of everything. The sad truth is that “Iron Man 2” was probably built with two major factors in mind. One: whet audience’s appetites for “Avengers Assemble” and Two: give the people what they want, which is to say, more of everything they loved about the first film!

In conclusion, “Iron Man 2” is nowhere near as bad as many fans say it is. I may be blinded by my nostalgia but I think that this movie has thrilling action, enjoyable performances and good ideas (perhaps too many.) It may be a louder, bigger and flashier version of the first film but frankly, is more Iron Man really a bad thing?

NO.