Iron Man 2 (2010)

Because of his superhero alter ego, Tony Stark must contend with deadly issues involving the government, his own friends and new enemies.

Director:

Jon Favreau

Writers:

Justin Theroux (screenplay), Stan Lee (Marvel comic book),

Stars:

Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Tony Stark
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Pepper Potts
Don Cheadle	...	Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes
Scarlett Johansson	...	Natalie Rushman / Natasha Romanoff
Sam Rockwell	...	Justin Hammer
Mickey Rourke	...	Ivan Vanko
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Nick Fury
Clark Gregg	...	Agent Coulson
John Slattery	...	Howard Stark
Garry Shandling	...	Senator Stern
Paul Bettany	...	Jarvis (voice)
Kate Mara	...	U.S. Marshal
Leslie Bibb	...	Christine Everhart
Jon Favreau	...	Happy Hogan
Christiane Amanpour	...	Herself

Storyline

With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts, and James "Rhodey" Rhodes at his side, must forge new alliances - and confront powerful enemies.

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Plot Keywords:

Hammer | Superhero | Military | Revenge | Monaco | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Marvel [au] Marvel [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Russian

Release Date:

7 May 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Iron 2 Man

Filming Locations:

D.C. Stages, 1360 East 6th Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$128,122,480 (USA) (7 May 2010)

Gross:

$312,057,433 (USA) (13 August 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mickey Rourke almost dropped out of the film when Marvel's initial pay offer to him was just $250,000.

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Goofs

Justin Hammer refers to the assault rifle as an "FN 2000." It is actually an F2000, made by Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[In Moscow, an old man watches a broadcast on TV]
Tony Stark: [on TV] There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop...
Christine Everhart: [on TV] I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that...
Tony Stark: [on TV] I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

After the credits have rolled, an allusion to the discovery of the Marvel superhero Thor is shown, with the camera panning onto an image of Thor's hammer, thus setting up the Thor movie in 2011.

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Connections

Featured in Brief Film Reviews: Iron Man 2 (2010)
Reviewed, clips shown.

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Soundtracks

"Make Way For Tomorrow Today"
Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman (as Richard Sherman)
Produced and Performed by John Debney

User Reviews

A worthwhile action-packed sequel

Robert Downey Jr was the best reason to watch the first Iron Man film since he seemed to slide into the role of Tony Stark so flawlessly and effortlessly. RDJ is just as amusing and fun to watch in Iron Man 2. If there were any doubts left over from RDJ's portrayal of Tony Stark from the first film, they're inevitably washed away with his convincing performance in the sequel. Newcomers Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, and Scarlett Johansson are just as impressive. Rourke has been on an incredible streak since The Wrestler and puts in another solid performance here. His Russian accent is pretty spot on and he shows a wider range of emotion than you may not be expecting. Rockwell has been on my "actors to keep an eye on" radar since Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. I thoroughly enjoyed his smarmy performance as Hammer, who has all of the tools at his disposal to make as big of an impact on the world as Tony Stark has only to wind up falling short in the long run. The flirting between Tony and Johansson's Natalie Rushman is pretty captivating, but her crowning achievement is her fight scene in the latter half of the film that practically steals the show. Don Cheadle does have a few humorous one-liners and is great as War Machine, but doesn't really add anything that Terrence Howard already established with the role in the first film. It's slightly disappointing since Cheadle is known for his strong acting roles, but may be a result of the way the Capt. James Rhodes character was written for both films.

While the film is a worthy sequel, it does contain a few small flaws. What is it with Hollywood films lately having the climactic battle during the finale last five minutes or less? Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Clash of the Titans, and Iron Man 2 all share this trait. It doesn't take away from the fact that the conclusion to Iron Man 2 is still pretty satisfying, but my mindset seems dead set on thinking it's more satisfying when the antagonist has the advantage. He or she gains the upper hand and there's that moment where you think they may bring their evil plan to fruition before the protagonist outsmarts the antagonist for the win. When that last battle seems short, it makes it seem like the villain was all talk. Speaking of the action sequences though, they're spectacular and twice as big as the action in the original film. The problem is that the action seemed to get blurry during several of the more hefty action scenes. I'm not sure if it's because it's the way it was shot or what, but it made it seem like there was too much going on in the film to fully process in post-production or something.

Iron Man 2 is an extremely satisfying sequel on all accounts. While the original film is probably slightly better, the sequel does everything right and doubles up on everything in comparison; action, strong characters, teases for upcoming Marvel films, etc. Despite some of its early negative criticism, Iron Man 2 delivers a worthwhile sequel with a fantastic cast and spectacular action.