Iron Face and the Machine of War

All right, it is now time for the long awaited review of Iron Man 2 (2010) directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. I went to the midnight showing decked out in all manner of ridiculous Iron Man paraphernalia and waited downtown with my friends to ensure good seats for roughly 8.5 hours. I feel this is important to note because anticipation is certainly a pivotal part of this movie. The first movie was great, the comics have always been great, and finally here is the sequel. Something for which I have spent months drooling all over the trailer for. I was all snuggled in my seat covered in candy wrappers and action figures when the movie began. And needless to say, I was suffused with a sugar/ adrenaline induced energy that made my excitement for what I was seeing multiply tenfold.

However even had I not been filled with high fructose corn syrup and pure joy, I think I would still have easily been able to say that this film delivers. We get to see Tony at both his best and at his worst, some of the most gorgeously orchestrated CGI battles of all time, development of a story and its characters that is both vivid and meaningful, and the introduction of wonderful villains and characters.

There was, and still is, very little that I know about the character of Whiplash. But I do know this much: in the comics he is supremely lame. Here's why. That's right he has a GREEN TOPKNOT. Who in God's name is going to find that threatening? I don't care how dangerous his energy whips are. His hair has the intimidating abilities of a pile of seaweed. Luckily Mickey Rourke, who is playing the character of Ivan Vonko (Whiplash) in the new film put a stop to all of that. He has black and white greasy hair, threatening tattoos, and a voice that could make a kid cry if it emanated from under the bed at night. See what I mean? He's very smart, he's fueled by revenge, and he's a legitimately scary psychopath. All things I like to see in a villain.

Then of course there is the arrival of War Machine on the scene. The original actor (Terrence Howard) for the character of Lt. Col. James Rhodes decided not to continue his role in the second film, and so was replaced by Don Cheadle. I think that because of this break in continuity, it could create some confusion among movie fans, because these two men are the same person with the same personality, and the same connection to Stark. But they do look vastly different from each other. All I can say is, Terrence you missed out on becoming one of the more iconic characters ever. Rhodey gets a suit, and he gets a suit with GUNS. This resulted in a fantastic CGI battle between Rhodes and Stark, and later the two of them team up against some drones.

Basically it was some of the most rewarding superhero battling I've ever seen. There was noise, there was destruction, there were more explosions than a girl could ever hope for. This is actually the only part of the film where I could claim to have a complaint, and that was, in an effort to make the violence, the movement, the speed all seem realistic and credible, it was very difficult to see what was going on. The bright flashes and blurs of movement left me disoriented and wishing I could see more. I comfort myself on the idea that one day this film will be on Blu-ray, therefore I will be able to slow it down and pause it if I wish.

All of the other characters exceeded my initial expectations, especially Black Widow played by Scarlett Johanssen. Sure, she was mainly intended to be a sexy distraction that pops in every now and again, but she does have some excellent fight scenes which (hilariously), include the use of pepper spray. Pepper Potts still continues to be Tony's love interest in the story, much to my confusion and slight irritation. In the comics, she marries Happy Hogan, and I wish that was happening here too. But then, no one has asked me...or any hardcore comic book fans. She still does well in the role however, I thought her performance was very true to form with her previous portrayal.

Then there is Happy Hogan, which may or may no cause some controversy because it looks to all appearances as though John Favreau is simply trying to give himself some more face time. However I don't feel like that is the case. I think it was purely an attempt to allow Happy to be developed as a character, and that is was done incredibly well. Happy gets in a couple more wisecracks, and shows off a bit more of his possible badass tendencies.

Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D. , and played by Samuel L. Jackson was of course wonderfully portrayed, but I feel a little bit that it is because Samuel L. Jackson is very accomplished at playing himself. As I watched, I wasn't getting past the fact that what I was looking at was Samuel L. Jackson with an awesome eye-patch, and how very awesome that all was. I wasn't focused on the character, I was focused on the actor who played him, which is something of a rare phenomenon with me.

Finally Robert Downey Jr. was once again a stunning Tony Stark. He was cocky, he was drunk, he was an asshole, and he learned from his mistakes. All of his emotions and all of his thoughts were made clear to me even when they weren't spelled out, because Robert Downey is so good at using his face and his voice to portray Tony. He knows when to be fun and when to suffer, and is masterful at both. In the suit, he is heroic and amazing, out of it, he is just incredibly lovable and loathable (speaking with endearment of course).

In closing, this movie was wonderful. I had fun, it was exciting, I can't wait to see it on the IMAX at some point. It creates enjoyment for both fans of the comics and fans of the film, and it utilizes its medium in ways that could make it a classic among superhero film adaptations. This one also gets 5/5 Staryus.