Marvel May - Iron Man 2 (2010)
Hey guy, Chuck here, and welcome back to Marvel May. Today, we're going to take a look at a movie that, while we all tricked ourselves into liking it at the time, we've since looked back at this one and laughed at how ridiculous it really was. And that came in the form of the third film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Iron Man 2.
Okay, so Robert Downey Jr. is back as Tony Stark, and we see him in the Mark IV Armor as he flys in to a major event that he is hosting for Stark Industries: the Stark Expo. It's also here where we learn that Tony is slowly dying from palladium poisoning, due to the Arc Reactor in his chest. Unfortunately, the American government is pressuring Tony into handing control of the Iron Man technology to the American government and military. After showcasing other countries across the world attempting to re-create the Iron Man suit, Tony shows that all of them, including an attempt by Tony's business rival Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell, are failures, and nowhere near matching the Iron Man technology. At that time, Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke, works on his own Arc Reactor based on blueprints from his father, Anton, who made the original Arc Reactor alongside Howard Stark. Ivan uses the Arc Reactor to power his own device: a pair of electrically-charged whips.
Meanwhile, Tony names Pepper, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, as CEO of Stark Industries, and is given a new assistant in Natalie Rushman, played by Scarlett Johannson. Tony, along with Pepper, Natalie, and Happy, played by Jon Favreau, all head to Monaco, where Tony decides to drive in the Stark Industries racecar. It is at this point that Ivan, also known as Whiplash, attacks Tony, who is bailed out with the Mark V Armor. Tony removes the Arc Reactor from Ivan's tech, and Ivan is arrested. In prison, Tony meets Ivan, who tells him that he wants to show the world the true Stark family legacy. Some time after, Ivan is broken out of prison by Hammer, who wants Ivan to build Iron Man-like suits for him. Ivan agrees, and the two head for Hammer's factory.
Back at home, Tony is confronted by Rhodey, played by Don Cheadle, who is doing his best to keep the military from taking the Iron Man suits. Tony, meanwhile, has a birthday party, where he's in the Mark IV Armor, completely drunk, and making an ass of himself. Rhodey, suiting up in the Mark II Armor, fights Tony, and takes the Armor to Edward's Air Force Base. Tony, meanwhile, is confronted by S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, who reveals that Natalie is, in fact an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. by the name of Natasha Romanoff. Fury mad Natasha take Tony to his house, where Fury reveals that the Arc Reactor was a part of an unfinished technology that Howard, Tony's father, was working on as a kick-off to an energy race, and had the device's co-creator, Anton Vanko, deported after learning that Anton wanted to use the Arc Reactor to get rich. Fury and Natasha leave Tony under the watch of Agent Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, and Tony goes to work trying to find the answer to the palladium poisoning issue. After watching an old tape of Howard, played by John Slattery, Tony realizes that the Stark Expo diorama is the key to solving his problem. Tony then heads to Stark Industries to get it.
After realizing that the diorama is a map for a new, impossible to synthesize element, Tony Begins to build a device to create the new element, which is accepted into an updated version of the Arc Reactor. Coulson, meanwhile has left for a new assignment in New Mexico, and Tony is on his own. Ivan, meanwhile, changed Hammer's design from a suit of armor to an armored drone, believing drones to be better. Hammer, meanwhile, has weaponized the Mark II Armor, turning in into the Mark I War Machine armor. Hammer then presents the drones, as well as Rhodey as War Machine, at the Stark Expo. Tony, having attached the new Arc Reactor to his chest, curing his palladium poisoning, flies in wearing the new Mark VI Armor. Ivan, from Hammer's factory, remotely takes control of Rhodey's suit, and the drones, and uses them to attack Tony. Natasha, along with Happy, then heads to Hammer's factory to confront Ivan, who escapes in a new Whiplash armor. Natasha overrides the War Machine armor, giving control back to Rhodey, who teams with Tony to destroy the drones as they attack, and finally destroy Ivan and his powered suit.
Meeting with Fury, Tony reads Natasha's assessment, where it is revealed that while Iron Man is approved for the Avengers Initiative, Tony himself is not, and S.H.I.E.L.D. only wants to use him as a consultant. Tony, initially turning him down, agrees on the proviso that he gets Senator Stern, played by Garry Shandling, to present Rhodey and himself with the medals that the two of them are receiving. In the movie's post-credits scene, we see Coulson in New Mexico, where he overlooks a crater site, and calls Fury, telling him "Sir, we've found it." The camera looks into the crater, showing a hammer in the ground. Not just any hammer, though, but the mighty hammer of Thor.
Iron Man 2 is arguably the weakest of the three Iron Man movies, and one of my least favorite films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the returns of Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Clark Gregg, Jon Favreau, and Samuel L. Jackson are great, and Scarlett Johannson is a terrific addition to the MCU, I feel that both Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are wasted here. The plot doesn't do much to further Tony's story, aside from making Pepper CEO of Stark Industries, as well as the introduction of Natasha aka Black Widow, not to mention setting up Thor's introduction. While I enjoyed it during the summer of 2010, looking back at it now, I feel like it's not worth it. Aside from watching the movie as part of an MCU marathon, I can't really recommend this one. Honestly, Iron Man 2 is only really worth a rating of 3.25/5. While it's not the worst MCU film, it's definitely one of the weaker ones. This is Chuck signing off. Join me as we venture into the world of Asgard with Thor as Marvel May continues.
Okay, so Robert Downey Jr. is back as Tony Stark, and we see him in the Mark IV Armor as he flys in to a major event that he is hosting for Stark Industries: the Stark Expo. It's also here where we learn that Tony is slowly dying from palladium poisoning, due to the Arc Reactor in his chest. Unfortunately, the American government is pressuring Tony into handing control of the Iron Man technology to the American government and military. After showcasing other countries across the world attempting to re-create the Iron Man suit, Tony shows that all of them, including an attempt by Tony's business rival Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell, are failures, and nowhere near matching the Iron Man technology. At that time, Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke, works on his own Arc Reactor based on blueprints from his father, Anton, who made the original Arc Reactor alongside Howard Stark. Ivan uses the Arc Reactor to power his own device: a pair of electrically-charged whips.
Meanwhile, Tony names Pepper, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, as CEO of Stark Industries, and is given a new assistant in Natalie Rushman, played by Scarlett Johannson. Tony, along with Pepper, Natalie, and Happy, played by Jon Favreau, all head to Monaco, where Tony decides to drive in the Stark Industries racecar. It is at this point that Ivan, also known as Whiplash, attacks Tony, who is bailed out with the Mark V Armor. Tony removes the Arc Reactor from Ivan's tech, and Ivan is arrested. In prison, Tony meets Ivan, who tells him that he wants to show the world the true Stark family legacy. Some time after, Ivan is broken out of prison by Hammer, who wants Ivan to build Iron Man-like suits for him. Ivan agrees, and the two head for Hammer's factory.
Back at home, Tony is confronted by Rhodey, played by Don Cheadle, who is doing his best to keep the military from taking the Iron Man suits. Tony, meanwhile, has a birthday party, where he's in the Mark IV Armor, completely drunk, and making an ass of himself. Rhodey, suiting up in the Mark II Armor, fights Tony, and takes the Armor to Edward's Air Force Base. Tony, meanwhile, is confronted by S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, who reveals that Natalie is, in fact an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. by the name of Natasha Romanoff. Fury mad Natasha take Tony to his house, where Fury reveals that the Arc Reactor was a part of an unfinished technology that Howard, Tony's father, was working on as a kick-off to an energy race, and had the device's co-creator, Anton Vanko, deported after learning that Anton wanted to use the Arc Reactor to get rich. Fury and Natasha leave Tony under the watch of Agent Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, and Tony goes to work trying to find the answer to the palladium poisoning issue. After watching an old tape of Howard, played by John Slattery, Tony realizes that the Stark Expo diorama is the key to solving his problem. Tony then heads to Stark Industries to get it.
After realizing that the diorama is a map for a new, impossible to synthesize element, Tony Begins to build a device to create the new element, which is accepted into an updated version of the Arc Reactor. Coulson, meanwhile has left for a new assignment in New Mexico, and Tony is on his own. Ivan, meanwhile, changed Hammer's design from a suit of armor to an armored drone, believing drones to be better. Hammer, meanwhile, has weaponized the Mark II Armor, turning in into the Mark I War Machine armor. Hammer then presents the drones, as well as Rhodey as War Machine, at the Stark Expo. Tony, having attached the new Arc Reactor to his chest, curing his palladium poisoning, flies in wearing the new Mark VI Armor. Ivan, from Hammer's factory, remotely takes control of Rhodey's suit, and the drones, and uses them to attack Tony. Natasha, along with Happy, then heads to Hammer's factory to confront Ivan, who escapes in a new Whiplash armor. Natasha overrides the War Machine armor, giving control back to Rhodey, who teams with Tony to destroy the drones as they attack, and finally destroy Ivan and his powered suit.
Meeting with Fury, Tony reads Natasha's assessment, where it is revealed that while Iron Man is approved for the Avengers Initiative, Tony himself is not, and S.H.I.E.L.D. only wants to use him as a consultant. Tony, initially turning him down, agrees on the proviso that he gets Senator Stern, played by Garry Shandling, to present Rhodey and himself with the medals that the two of them are receiving. In the movie's post-credits scene, we see Coulson in New Mexico, where he overlooks a crater site, and calls Fury, telling him "Sir, we've found it." The camera looks into the crater, showing a hammer in the ground. Not just any hammer, though, but the mighty hammer of Thor.
Iron Man 2 is arguably the weakest of the three Iron Man movies, and one of my least favorite films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the returns of Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Clark Gregg, Jon Favreau, and Samuel L. Jackson are great, and Scarlett Johannson is a terrific addition to the MCU, I feel that both Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are wasted here. The plot doesn't do much to further Tony's story, aside from making Pepper CEO of Stark Industries, as well as the introduction of Natasha aka Black Widow, not to mention setting up Thor's introduction. While I enjoyed it during the summer of 2010, looking back at it now, I feel like it's not worth it. Aside from watching the movie as part of an MCU marathon, I can't really recommend this one. Honestly, Iron Man 2 is only really worth a rating of 3.25/5. While it's not the worst MCU film, it's definitely one of the weaker ones. This is Chuck signing off. Join me as we venture into the world of Asgard with Thor as Marvel May continues.
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