Review: Iron Man 2

By FORCH F. FORTIER
I am Iron Man.

With those four words, Tony Stark shocked the world, and started a revolution in the Marvel Movie universe at the end of the Original Iron Man.

This time, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr) is back, and better than ever. Or is he?

Iron Man 2 takes place about six months after the first film, and continues the saga of the billionaire-playboy/international jet setter.

But all is not well in the world of Tony Stark.

First off, a man by the name of Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), a Russian whose father had ties to the Stark family has built himself an ARC reactor of his own [the device that Tony built to keep himself alive] and is planning to extract revenge on his father’s behalf.

Secondly, the US government, namely Senator Stern (Garry Shandling) wants Stark to give up the Iron Man “Weapon” and allow them to use it to protect the nation, however Stark maintains that the Armor is not a weapon, and refuses to give it up, citing that no other country is even close to replicating the technology, even though his chief competitor, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) begs to differ.

Thirdly, the ARC reactor that Stark built to keep him alive is slowly killing him, as the palladium which powers the device is poisoning him, so Stark, realizing this is starting to become a little more reckless.

Back, of course are Tony’s main compatriots, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle, replacing Terrence Howard) and “Happy” Hogan (Director Jon Favreau), all of which have a larger role in the film this time around.

Also joining the fray is Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) as well as Natalia Romanoff, aka The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), both operatives of SHIELD, who have interest in Tony Stark for a possible team to be assembled [hint, hint. It’s the Avengers, if you couldn’t already figure that out].

The film recaptures the spirit of the original, without losing any momentum. It’s shot very well, the already established characters are built upon very well, and the momentum of the film is also kept throughout.

The only real negative I have about the movie is that [like all superhero films/sequels] there were too many characters to focus on in the film. Obviously with this [and Thor, and Captain America’s films forthcoming] you have a lot to cram in a 2 hour movie, but you’re also building up to the next Marvel Comics film within it.

Plenty of “Easter Eggs” are to be found, if you pay attention, and if you do plan on going to see it at the theater, like the first movie, stay through to the end of the credits, as there is another really great build-up to another Marvel Project, which I am really excited to see!

I wouldn’t say that Iron Man 2 is better than the original, but it’s just as good, and fits together perfectly, even with a different actor playing one of the lead characters.

I give Iron Man 2: 9 out of 10