We are first introduced to Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) whose father is on his deathbed. Ivan and his father believe that Tony Stark's father stole his idea for the technology that eventually led to the creation of the Iron Man suit. Shortly after the death of his father, Ivan begins to construct a weapon/suit much like Iron Man's suit and starts his quest for revenge. Meanwhile, in the U.S., billionaire-icon-super-hero Tony Stark (Downey) is having the time of his life. Now known as Iron Man by all, Tony uses his heroic side to promote his company which results in the return of the Stark Expo, a convention where state-of-the-art inventions are exhibited. During this uprise in the company's popularity, Tony appoints his longtime assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) as the new CEO, a new assistant named Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) is appointed (which sparks an interest in Stark's personal side), and the billionaire also develops a rather large ego.
Ivan Vanko soon attacks Tony at a racetrack in Moscow and gains the attention of a rival of Tony Stark, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). These two men form a plot to take down Stark's enterprise and finally get a spot on top. However, Ivan has some plans of his own.
In the newest Marvel comic films, the goal is to start to connect the characters in each film to each other. For example, at the end of the credits of the first "Iron Man," we see Sam L. Jackson portray the famous Nick Fury who heads an organization known as S.H.E.I.L.D. (for the non-comic book readers, S.H.E.I.L.D. is like the super-hero C.I.A and police). The purpose of these tie-ins? Well, in 2012, Marvel plans to release "The Avengers" which is a super-hero team made up of Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, and Captain America. So if you thought the movie wasted actors like Sam L. Jackson and Scarlett Johhansson, relax...they are serving a bigger purpose.
Speaking of new characters, like in most sequels, "Iron Man 2" introduces us to several new characters. The most important new characters, are the S.H.E.I.L.D. agents. They consist of Nick Fury(Jackson), Stark's new assistant Natalie, A.K.A The Black Widow, and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) who was seen in the first film. These three watch over Tony and provide him with important tools to aid him throughout the film. Terrence Howard, who played Stark's best friend James Rhodes in the first film, has been replaced with Don Cheadle. Rhodes' character in this movie also introduces us to a new suit of Tony Stark's armor known as War Machine, which Rhodes dawns to eventually become Starke's sidekick.
"Iron Man 2" boasts an extraordinary cast who all give great performances. When it comes to Robert Downey Jr., it seems like he was born to play Tony Stark. His facial expressions, the way he delivers his lines, and everything else comes together to form the best Starke that simply cannot be recreated by any other actor. The film's antagonist, Ivan, is played by Mickey Rourke who did a great job as well. Rourke didn't have many lines, but his performance came out in his body language. While watching him, I could feel the emotions (mostly anger) that his character was feeling which made him all the more menacing. All the other actors and actresses show that the film has an A list cast which not only refers to their recent popularity, but their excellent acting.
In the first "Iron Man", the film had to focus on introducing the characters and getting to know them more than showing tons of action, which was what made the first film great. However, now we know the characters and the action can come out.. and oh boy it did. "Iron Man 2" was loaded with high octane, explosive action. I mean come on, what could be better than Iron Man jumping out of a plane, flying through the firework lit sky to AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill?" Whether it was Iron Man fighting Ivan, Iron Man fighting War Machine, or Natalie fighting Ivan's henchman ( which had probably the best fighting choreography in the entire movie), many of the characters got their action time on screen and it was fun. I won't give details but one of the action scenes in this film was so insane that the entire theater I was in started to cheer, yell, and applaud. Another good thing about the action was that even though there was tons of it, it didn't push away the plot line and character development which is what most sequels do. In "Iron Man 2" we continue to see into Tony Stark's character and the many issues, both good and bad, he has to deal with. This particular element is what makes these films so good.
Now what makes the "Iron Man" films stand out in popularity from other comic-book films? Well, somehow the makers of the film manage to find the perfect combination of comedy, action, drama, creative story, and character development into the films. As I stated before, what makes "Iron Man" a great franchise is that it cares about its characters and wants the viewers to get to know them and care about them as well. Also, I think a big factor pertaining to the the success of the first "Iron Man" is that the film contains a larger sense of reality than previous comic book films. These films don't have the perfect super-hero who never gets drunk, or never does anything wrong. Tony Stark faces problems that many people face like drinking and social pressure, thus it is easier to relate to him and enjoy his character. The films show that super-heroes can't be perfect.
"Iron Man 2" is a near-perfect super hero film that shows us all the action, laughs, and superb acting that anyone could ask for. When comparing it to its predecessor, I find it hard to say which one is better because they are pretty different in several ways and that both are just great films. "Iron Man 2" can take its place among my favorite films of the genre. By the way, especially if you are a comic book fan, stay after the credits for an overwhelmingly suspenseful cliffhanger. I give the film three stars out of four.
"Iron Man 2" has a running time of two hours and five minutes and is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language.
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