Iron Man 2, quite obviously the sequel to Sherlock Holmes, is fun, smart, and fast paced. Robert Downey, Jr., plays the titular character and his alter-ego, Tony Stark, with the same aplomb and swagger, tinged with a bit of newly discovered resignation and sadness. This film is about legacy, and it does a good job of showing how both the protagonist and his antagonist view their own individual legacies. While not quite as light-hearted as the first film, Iron Man 2 is an excellent middle chapter in a superb trilogy.
The Good: Tony Stark’s chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts. Jon Favreau’s Happy. ScarJo’s Natasha Romanov and her kick ass martial arts moves. Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Janko. Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer. Don Cheadle’s Rhodey. The action scenes. The fight scenes. The inside jokes. The fast dialogue that wasn’t dumbed down.
The Bad: Paul Bettany’s Jarvis is a little too human and acted as too much of a narrator at times. Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury is kind of annoying, and I fear for The Avengers if he can’t tone down the cheesy “Snakes on a Motherfuckin’ Plane” attitude. I hope his role is minimal in that film. The climax felt a little subdued. A few of the jokes were a little too referential to the first movie, unnecessarily.
The Ugly: Garry Shandling. Man, has he just gotten uglier in his old age or is it me?
I give it three and a half out of four War Machines.
Enjoy this post? Try these:My review of Kick Ass (No Spoilers)
My review of Drag Me To Hell (Spoiler Free)
My review of Star Trek
Interesting Ironman introspection.
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Twitter: AngellaD
says:
I’m hoping we get to see it tomorrow. Robert is too yummy for words.
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@Angella, He did a great job.
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Twitter: themuskrat
says:
Awesome…can’t wait to see it…as in, when it’s on Netflix.
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@Muskrat, you’ll be missing out not seeing in theaters, but I guess you’re a little busy.
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That is one half of my “dinner and a movie” gift for Mother’s Day. I am very excited to see it.
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@metalmom, enjoy!
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Twitter: blondefabulous
says:
RDJ in 3-D?! AWESOME!!!
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@Blondefabulous, I don’t think it’s in 3D. I saw it in normal 2D.
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Twitter: blondefabulous
, May 8th, 2010: 8:38 AM
@Avitable, Ah… I thought I read that Marvel was going to convert it to 3-D for the larger theaters, like at Universal Studios, etc….. Oh well. I guess I could deal with RDJ in 2-D…… if I must. (wink)
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Did you see it in IMAX? I think it’s only playing in that format here for two weeks, then Shrek 4 bumps it.
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@Grant, nah. Just the normal type.
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Twitter: NenetteAM
says:
The fun, raw dialogue in the first movie really made it for me. Glad they continue it in this one. Can’t wait to see it.
Oh, and yeah, super yummy RDJ. Looking forward to seeing him too.
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@Nenette, hope you enjoy!
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Twitter: maria0305
says:
I 150% disagree with you. On like everything you said. Except Garry Shandling. WTF HAPPENED TO HIM? I’d link to my own review but I find that to be tacky.
It’s on my movie blog, if you’re interested.
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@Maria, it’s okay – I’ll never think it’s tacky if you put a link in my comments, because I know you.
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Hmmm… Sounds good. I’ll see it… haha, yeah, right. On DVD, maybe.
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@Sybil Law, heh. It’s worth seeing in the theater.
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Twitter: nycwatchdog
says:
My biggest gripe (and keep in mind I’m seeing it tomorrow) is that somehow Cuba Gooding Jr. got morphed into Don Cheadle. I loved Cuba in the first one as Rhodey, and imagined him donning the War Machine armor with much fanfare… so I really hope I’m not disappointed in it. The fact you gave it 3.5 out of 4 is a good sign… but I’m still a little hesitant… so we’ll see…
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Twitter: missbritt
, May 10th, 2010: 6:31 PM
@NYCWD, I noticed that too!!!!!! I was like “what the hell, did they really just swap black guys?!?!”
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@Miss Britt, yeah, it was a contract dispute/pay negotiation issue that backfired on the original guy.
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@NYCWD, you’re kidding, right? I can’t tell if you are or not. The original actor was Terrence Howard, not Cuba Gooding Jr. And he apparently demanded way too much money so they decided they didn’t need his antics for a long-term investment.
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I want to see this! Am I a jerk if I go without the Captain? He’s away for five whole weeks, dammit.
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@Stacey, nah. You can see it again with him when he comes back.
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Twitter: poppycede
says:
I really enjoyed the movie. Can’t wait to see it a bunch more times.
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@Poppy, me too!
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Twitter: undercovermama
says:
I saw it as part of my Mother’s Day adventure. I 1000% agree with the Garry Shandling assessment. WTF? I ALMOST didn’t recognize him.
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@briya, me either. He looked like an ugly lesbian.
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Twitter: missbritt
says:
Saw it this afternoon and LOVED it.
Also – did you notice Hammer had orange palms, like from sunless tanner, during his initial meeting with what’s his name?
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@Miss Britt, I did!! I almost texted you from the theater because I thought it was hilarious.
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Great rating. I liked the movie a lot, but still prefer the first movie for the pure idea that it told the story so well. I’ll see Iron Man 2 again to see what I missed.
And I hope that Nick Fury is better in the Avengers movies, too.
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