I just came back from a screening of Iron Man 2 (the movie, not the game) and absolutely loved it. I enjoyed 75 percent of the first movie (I thought the last fight was lame) and had high expectations going in. For me, the sequel was better than the original simply because I enjoyed the whole thing. Here are some random thoughts (not a review!) on Iron Man 2. Spoilers ahead!
– Robert Downey, Jr. owns in this movie. He truly is the perfect Tony Stark. He’s charming, smart, sarcastic, suave, and flawed enough for moviegoers to identify with. As charming as he was in the first movie, he’s even more so in the sequel. His interplay with Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Favreau, Sam Rockwell, and Scarlett Johannson was so entertaining. The interaction and humor felt organic.
– I missed Terrence Howard as James “Rhodey” Rhodes. Don’t get me wrong, Don Cheadle is a fantastic actor, but I loved the chemistry that Downey and Howard had. Cheadle did a good job in the movie, but there were times that made me feel like he wasn’t really trying. He also didn’t have the same rapport with Downey.
– Mickey Rourke was mildly disappointing as Whiplash/Ivan Vanko. He was kind of threatening, kind of brilliant, and kind of maniacal, but he was mostly just a dirty Russian guy. Dude needed to take a shower but never got around to it. After his awesome performance in The Wrestler, I was hoping for more. I suppose the flat feeling I had was due to the writing and not Rourke’s performance.
– Sam Rockwell was very cool as Justin Hammer, save for a completely unnecessary dance scene. He was a great foil for Tony Stark and played his role well. The buzz that the Tony Stark/Justin Hammer relationship is eerily similar to the Steve Jobs/Bill Gates relationship is completely overblown. Don’t believe the hype!
– I loved that Iron Man and Tony Stark had separate villains. That was one of my problems with the original movie. Jeff Bridges (or as I call him, Starman) was a great business rival as Obadiah Stane. I thought he absolutely sucked as Iron Monger. I didn’t find him threatening at all. I liked having two villains with different angles in Iron Man 2.
– Scarlett Johansson was surprisingly good as the Black Widow. She’s one of the sexiest women on the planet, so I was expecting her to be around for decorative purposes, but she totally kicked ass in her fight scene. She had enough screen time to shine, but not enough so that it felt like her face and body were being exploited.
– Sam Jackson went a little overboard as Nick Fury. He was too Snakes on a Plane for me. Yeah, Fury can be fiery, but he’s also cool and always in total control. Jackson had the cool part down but did a little too much screaming for me.
– The action is excellent. The last third of the movie has some awesome fighting sequences. You really get the “heavy metal” feeling from the combat.
– I loved that most of the movie took place in Los Angeles and Queens. Considering where I live and where I grew up, it felt comfortable. A movie hasn’t made me feel that way since Coming to America. Ha!
– I heard that the preview prints didn’t have the post-credit teaser…but I saw it and loved it! I already warned you about spoilers in the opening paragraph, so I have no problem telling you that it’s hammer time!
– Update: Totally forgot to write about the cameos. Stan Lee as Larry King was cute. Larry Ellison as Larry Ellison was cool! Tony Stark would totally rub elbows with people like Ellison, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt, etc.
My wife and I will be seeing it on Saturday.
I want to read this sooooo bad but I don't want the spoilers :(
@big blak
There is no real storyline spoilers. Rpad just rates their performances in the movie and his reactions. Only one spolier about the post credit trailer and if i read it right i think Rpad said MC Hammer is joining S.H.I.E.L.D.
someone on demonoid already blew the big spoiler for me
@ray
is this the best superhero movie youve seen?
@tokz
you read that wrong, but please dont repeat it
@big blak
dont read the last part where ray talks about post credit teaser
@thundercracker
I know, i did that on purpose in case BB read my comment and i also wanted to make a little joke with the way Rpad phrased it.
Aw sweet no real spoilers! I can't wait to see this movie.
@thundercracker Hmmmm, I'll have to give that more thought, but I'm leaning towards no. It's surely up there though.
I saw the trailer for the Expendables last night….
It looks COMPLETELY off the chain.
@N8R
I think everyone who has ever been in an action movie is in this movie, He even tried to get JCVD, Seagal, and Snipes to all be in it.
@Rpad
http://www.pp2g.tv/vZHx9ZXA_.aspx
Haven't you seen my movies!!?!?!?!?!
@Arguello You speak of the prophecy of the one that will restore balance to the Force. You believe it's…this boy?
@Rpad
Ahhh Mace Windu, I think its fair to say that Mr. Jackson has done everything. Fought snake on a plane, got beat up by a random guy while trying to rob a burger joint, eaten by raptors, eaten by a shark, shot by the police, and fought in inter-galactic battles. He's like the black Forrest Gump.
@ Arguello
Sylvester Stallone
Jason Statham
Jet Li
Dolph Lundgren
Mickey Rourke
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Randy Couture
Bruce Willis
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Besides the folks you mentioned… it's only missing Dudikoff.
@arguello
Don't forget get robbing a McDowell's!!!!
Hopefully I will be seeing this sometime soon, I think Friday night I might be going with some other friends who wanna see it.
@rpad
i saw iron man over the weekend. I thought it was good but the boss battle was pretty lame. Other than that i liked it and i thought it was as good as the first one. I agree with your assessment of chris evans possibly not being able to hold his own against rdj as iron man. Hey did you laugh at that one scene when tony stark uses something to level out the proton thing. I did because i thought it reminded me of the civil war angle.
I saw it Sunday. Good movie, not great. Last fight was a bit anti climatic. I was happy to see war machine. Like him more than Iron Man.
@tokz_21 I love that scene. It's very cute.
@smartguy War Machine needs a nemesis called Love Machine.
@rpad
i thought so too. I know that marvel is banking on this whole avengers movie an it looks like its building very well but who do you think the super-villain would be? Ive been racking my brain to come up with one. Lastly the way the drones and iron man suits looked got me a little excited for an x-men movie with te being chased and fightung sentinels.
@tokz_21 Well, Loki was the original villain in the comics. Ultron would be cool too. I'm guessing it'll be something more generic like in Ultimates 2.
Btw, I'm at another free Iron Man 2 screening. This time it's in IMAX.
@ray
you in with that medical marijuana thing in california?
i mean your leg IS kinda beat up
@rpad
i hope you like the IMAX experience. It was great to see on a big screen but i didnt enjoy it as much as the dark knight one. As for Loki being in the avengers movie, i can see it happening if they leave the thor movie open ended but i hate having movies that are open ended. Maybe ill accept it because its a comic movie. I just hope the battles are more epic or interesting than the ones in iron man, x-men, and fantastic 4.
@ Thundercracker
When you first started talking to me, I was the Director Of Operations of a medicinal marijuana dispensary.
If Ray needs a doctor, I have a few places to send him. But… he knows how ridiculously easy it is to get a recommendation already.
@thundercracker I'm actually not. I enjoy legal substances more than I ought to. Ha! I'm pretty sure more than half my friends in LA have cards. It seems as easy as getting a library card.
@tokz_21 I definitely enjoyed seeing it again on IMAX. The sound was pretty awesome. Feeling the vibrations during an explosion or when Iron Man was flying was very cool. Of course the picture was brilliant, as expected.
the reason i asked is cause itd be awesome to see iron man in imax while under the influence of "legal substances"
@n8r
first off i hope you are feeling better….
secondly…im not sure if you saw me post this before, but this might interest you….
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=619950895&…
@ Thundercracker
Yes, I am feeling better. I was sick with the same symptoms that got me my medicinal cannabis recommendation in the first place. I get severe abdominal cramps for entire days at a time. It hurts like hell. In my experience with it (and I really do have quite alot), cannabis really helps with something like that, anything nervous system related, and actually pulls miracles with MS patients. With something like Ray's knee… it really wouldn't help. He could get the card for it (for sure), but it wouldn't help the pain. If he used it to counter side effects of other medications he was taking… different story. But just the pain in his knee… wouldn't help.
Secondly, that's awesome. I sent him a friend request. That dude is seriously one of my idols.
Lol, I keep thinking of the episode of Southpark this season about the medicinal pot. That episode was an instant classic.
@rpad
The IMAX experience is pretty kool. I'm glad you were able to enjoy it especially for free!
@Iceman Great comments!!! J. Jonah Jameson was played by the excellent JK Simmons, btw.
@ topic;
I finally saw the movie this past weekend and I have some thoughts of my own.
– If you look at this movie in the context of an Avengers prequel instead of a sequel to Ironman, the movie becomes much, much better than it already is.
– I did not see “The Wrestler” so I did not get a chance to witness Mickey Rourke’s “best” acting. That said; I enjoyed the way he played his character in the movie. Could have it been better or more fleshed-out? Sure, but it was good given all of the other character’s screen time and development.
– This movie seems to be a definite fan service for anyone who is a fan of “The Ultimates” line of graphic novels. Being a huge Marvel Ultimate Universe fan myself, I speak from experience. Major thumbs up seeing John Romita (Sr. and Jr.) in the writer’s credits. That’s always a good thing.
– I agree that Terrence Howard was a better James Rhodes and that Tony Stark and Ironman having two separate villains made for a better movie.
– Justin Hammer was alright. He got that annoying corporate prick vibe down right. And of course, I cannot say anything bad about Downey Jr. as Stark since he was pretty much born to play that role. Patrick Stewart as Xavier and Downey Jr. as Stark are probably the two BEST-cast characters in all of the Marvel movies. Oh, and also that guy who played J. Jonah Jameson.
The worst, you ask? Well, there are quite a few to be sure. Off the top of my head, Ben Assflick as Murdoch/Daredevil, Halle Berry as Storm, Shawn Ashmore as Iceman (personal), Michael Clarke Duncan as Fisk/Kingpin (no, not because he was black), and the absolute worst: Tobey McGuire as Spiderman (he made a good high school nerd Parker, but that’s about it).
– All in all, the movie was about what I expected to kick-off the summer blockbuster action season. Thumbs up.
-M
@ Iceman
At least people aren't saying RDJ was born to play his role in Less Than Zero anymore.
Awesome movie. Well worth the money.
@Iceman I'd have to say that Edward Norton was a pretty good Bruce Banner and Willem Dafoe surprised me as Green Goblin. But yes Robert Downey Jr. was born for this role.