Tony Stark had some really big boots to step into for the second Iron Man movie. After the surprise hit that was Jon Favreau's Iron Man, he had the really difficult task of topping one of the greatest superhero movies of all time. So, the big question is, did he top it. I keep hearing the anwser is no, but my anwser may surprise you.
The second movie is a mix of stories from the comic book, including the famed demon in the bottle, which confronts Stark's alcoholism. It starts off with Mickey Rourke's character making the whiplash whips you see in the trailer, we also find out the glowing arc reactor in Stark's chest is poisoning Tony, and despite the fact he is on top of the world, he realizes it's just a bigger fall as Whiplash and rival weapons maker Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell, come together against Tony. At the same time, Tony is trying to figure out a mystery left by his father and the Stark expo.
The question, however, is whether or not it's better than the first, and I say the answer is that it is as good, but the answer is that the two movies are quite different, and director Favreau shows his mastery of more than just an origin story, he shows the mastery of an action popcorn flick. The movie reduces the witty banter of Robert Downey Jr., and adds a bit more drama, while cranking the action way past eleven.
The characters are the biggest part of the movie, for better and worse. While it was extremely tough to juggle the multiple characters, which is the one minor flaw in the movie, I was still amazed with what they did with the different characters. In the movie, we have James Rhodes, who puts on the War Machine armor, Pepper Potts in an upgraded role, Scarlett Johanson's Black Widow, and Nick Fury. We also have good villains in this flick in whiplash and Justin Hammer. I'm a huge fan of Rockwell, and he didn't disappoint here.
Overall, it was a bigger, more action packed movie with more explosions, laser blasts and robots, and I loved every second of it. It seemed as thought everyone was on the top of their game, despite struggling slightly in the middle of the movie with the crazy amounts of characters.
Overall, a great start to the summer, with a very high bar to reach, and if this is any indication, a great start to the Avengers. Iron Man has quickly put itself on the top of the superhero list!
Oh, and make sure you stay until the end of the credits, and you can see the next step in the Avengers.
FUN TRIVIA: The design of Dr Vanko's whips were heavily inspired by the Star Wars (1977) lightsaber
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