The first movie is about how Iron Man gets to be Iron man, his complicated relationship with his assistant Pepper and even more complicated relationship with his business partner Obadiah You might check the review for refreshing your memory.
Iron Man 2
Well, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is just being Tony Stark. He is mischievous, fun-loving, full of funny one-linters and witty sarcasm, and loving Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). He has reassured the government – by making total fools of them-that Iron Man is a technology that no country has ever come close yet. Of course he has made enemies in the process: the weapons expert and the CEO of weapons manufacturer Hammer Technologies, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). He also has an outraged Russian enemy, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke). He is the scientist son of a scientist father who- according to Ivan-was not treated right by Tony Stark’s father, Howard Stark (John Slattery). Ivan is working on re-creating a fine weapon on his own. And Tony has another problem: he is dying. The palladium in his chest is increasing the toxicity in his blood and if he can’t find a replacement element or a cure, he will die…
So while Tony doesn’t go easy on any parties or crazy stunts, he is also making radical changes in his life. He hires a new PA, as he makes Pepper the CEO of his company. His new assistant is Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson): a fiery, intelligent and capable redhead who is just even more capable than Tony can actually imagine and will soon find out. These changes are driving Pepper crazy and she doesn’t know about his condition, are putting a strain on their relationship.
So Tony has to win a battle against himself, Ivan and later a collaboration of Ivan and Sam. It doesn’t help that he might also be screwing up his friendship with his close friend Rhoedes (Don Cheadle)….
New enemies, old and new allies, lots and lots of action (more than the first), great sexual and romantic chemistry, beautiful leads, great sound and visual effects, a kick-ass soundtrack and a very satisfying sctipt: Yes, I loved Iron Man 2. I freaking loved it. I have no idea it is rated less than the first one. Well, we will see what the eventual rating will be as it sits at 7.5 on IMDB at the moment, voted by nearly 50.000 people whereas the first is an 8.0, voted by nearly 170.000 people. I guess it is customary to rate the sequel lower for a lot of movies, no matter how great and fun it is. 9/10 from me.
I am not an Iron Man expert, mind you. I am not a comics reader. I am however a movie nut and I have an addiction for kick-ass entertainment movies like the Iron Man series. Lots of action, visually stunning, a good script and great sense of humor. Iron Man gives just that. I may not be a comic book fan but I am a fan of the movie adaptations. The technology and the fighting, the villain vs the nice guy are fun to watch. You should of course keep in mind Sam Rockwell is as terrific as always and Mickey Rourke makes a great Ivan. It is cool to have Samuel L. Jackson too. And I finally get why men love Scarlett Johannson. Yeah, yeah, she is a fine actress. But she is also playing one of the most gorgeous, dangerous and kick-ass female characters ever and she has red hair. Wow.
Fun facts:
– Happy- Tony’s driver/mate/guard/boxing partner is played by Jon Favreau, the director of the series. Before Iron Man, Jon was mostly known as his frequent writing/acting collaborations with actor Vince Vaughn.
– The actor playing Howard Stark, Tony’s father, is John Slattery. Sex and The City fans might have felt he looks familiar. Well, he is. He is the actor who played Carrie’s politician boyfriend Bill Kelley in third season for 2 episodes. Remember the guy who had a really weird request? This might refresh your memory.
– James Rhoedes was played by Terrence Howard in the first movie. He is replaced by Don Cheadle and I have to say I think Don makes an even better Rhodey. He also gets have a lot more fun, wearing the suit: fighting and flying and all that….
The Trailers
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNQowwwwYa0[/pro-player]
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQgD9qOhRs&feature=channel[/pro-player]