I´ll be honest with you guys: This was the first time i´ve ever seen a movie in the famous IMAX format... and man, what a way to start!
I´ll quote Hayden Christensen from the Episode III´s DVD documentaries when he says: "This movie is not just a ´good Star Wars Movie´, but a good movie by itself.Period"
Iron Man 2 is a good movie by itself. It is not just a good Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) or a good Iron Man franchise movie.
The "IMAX Experience" delivers. By the first 15 minutes, you want to place your soda under the seat, because your eyes adjust to the size of the World´s largest screens... you forget about everything else, literally even the movie theater itself.
___INTRODUCTION TO THE MOVIE____
--1) Along with the Paramount and MARVEL Studios´opening titles, we hear Tony´s Press conference speech from the final scene of Iron Man (2008). I noted immediatly that it was 100% re-done.. slightly changing a few words, undoubtedly aimed to those from the Audience who missed the first movie (we see Robert Downey Jr´s final shot when he says "The truth is... I am Iron Man", as mentioned, re-done and now there is not former James Rhodes actor Don Cheadle, since in the original film, said actor approaches RDJ and whispers to his ear: "Just read the cards")
_____IVAN VANKO INTRO.______
---2)The scene described in point 1) serves as the background for the introduction of both Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) and his dying father, who are in Rusia, watching the Press Conference Live on TV. He calls Ivan and says, refering to Stark: "It should be YOU, my son.. all i can give you is my knowledge" (A mysterious line but with a powerful meaning later on in the movie)
----3) Ivan takes on blueprints and technical data found around his apartment(full of computers, and with a mechanical-like workshop included). As represented very well from the Trailer, the wall full of Tony Stark´s magazine covers from years back reflects very well his obsession with him.
___IRON MAN/TONY STARK___
---4)6 months later, we see Iron Man in full flight action descending to the Stark EXPO (I´ve heard negative comments about Director Jon Favreau´s (last minute?) decision to completely modify the "You complete me" scene, and now instead of seeing Tony with the IM armor w/o the helmet saying goodbye to Gwyneth Paltrow´s Pepper Pots in the Helicopeter, as shown in the final trailer,we just see a fully armored IM´s back as he prepares to jump, but in my opinion, Tony´s introduction being his speech at the inauguration of the EXPO works better, becasuse what he says IS MEANT to sound "pricky" and that´s what a front-show man like Stark would do and say, reflecting both his personality and by the way telling the audience watching IM2 who missed IM1, again,what it was about.
===Best line in the movie:
"Any more bad ideas?"(talking to himself in the mirror)
___THE BLOOD TOXICITY SUBPLOT___
----5) As the movie goes on, we learn the Palladium plate inside the Repulsor Technology Core, placed in Tony´s chest, is actually killiing him slowly bacause of its toxicity in his blood system. A maquette from the 1974 Stark EXPO left as a legacy by Tony´s father, Howard, holds the key that Tony will eventually need by using modern technology and thus, discover (or "rediscover" as he says), a new element, since his A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S. program, has been unable to find the correct combination among the known elements on earth to sustitute the dangerous palladium.
The new element will be the source power for his Mark VI´ RT core.
____PEPPER POTTS___
--6) Tony and Pepper´s love-hate relationship grows closer. In one hand, he trusts her with the running of Stark Enterprises as its new CEO. In the other hand, by the end of the movie they both realize they love each other (or should i say, they "need" each other... i think the best line that describes their relationship is Pepper´s "You are also the only thing i have, you know." from IM1).
===Best line in the movie:
"I am tryng to do the job you were meant to do." and "I need you...to leave"
____NATALIE RUSHMAN/BLACK WIDOW___
---7)As CBM´s Brent Sprecher said once, she is never mentioned with that Alias (BW). Scarlett Johansson is without a doubt one of the best parts of the movie. She looks and acts completely different to many other roles in which i´ve seen her. Her action scenes are very plausible, as she doesn´t knock out guys with one or 2 punches in a cheesy way, but with an elaborate choreography that shows her training for this movie very well.
She was meant to look beautiful in this role, which she does, but in every scene her character looked so unpredictible, it delivers.
These 2 photos show Deleted Scenes from the film:
===Best line in the movie:
"Can´t you keep your mouth shout?"
____JUSTIN HAMMER______
--8)For me, Sam Rockwell´s acting is the best of the movie. You tend to sympathyse with Hammer, since he tries desperately to rise from the shadow that Stark cast on him for many years in the weaponry production contracts with the US government. Tony ridicules him in public during the Senate hearing in which he is cited as "an expert" by Stark-angst Senator Stern.
He delivers the most pathetic moments of the film, but portrayed grandly. You feel sorry for this man, when he realizes he has no control at all over Vanko´s work, whom he got out of jail only to find out he made a pact with a madman, as also Brent mentioned, a pact with the devil himself.
===Best line in the movie:
"It feels bad when they take something away from you, doesn´t it?, well that´s exactly how i feel!!"
____WHIPLASH____
--9) Again, another character that is never called by that name. Rourke´s performance delivers, his technological abilities are believable, though i didn´t quite understood how did he learn to be such a free-hand effective killer..i think Fury mentioned something about him growing alone in Moscow with his father being exiled to Siberia.
His line "You lose!", used effectively TWICE in the movie, made me think that HE KNEW, from the very beginning of the movie, that his was A SUICIDE MISSION, a dark journey that would take him forever away from home, away from freedom... but at the same time, closer than ever to his father´s forgotten legacy.
For Tony had the old film reels his father left him, Ivan had the strongest motivation: redemption. So, the unexpected approach from someone with resources like Hammer (a "shark" he attracted anyway), changed the course of the river for him, but at the end, a river that he would use to reach the Sea of vengeance he seeks.
===Best line in the movie:
"All i have to do is sit here, and watch the sharks coming."
____WAR MACHINE____
(C´mon there are tons of the movie photos so here is somethin´different haha)
---10) Without a doubt, and taking advantage of the character already being introduced and the WM theme also being teased in the first movie, this was a very well job of presenting a new Super Heroe to the MCU.
War Machine(and we can call him this way because Tony at one point calls him like that) has very strong motivations to take on the armor:
-The country comes first. His superiors order him to settle down Stark´s neggative position to turn over the IM technology to the US government; or take over it if neccesary.
-His long friendship to Tony would lead to the Audience to think he would risk everything to protect his friend, which he does anyway; but the way Favreau managed the motivations that Rhodes had to take over the MARK II armor were, in one word, PERFECT: Seeing his best friend out of control.
-Doing the Right Thing, even if the first two reasons collide.
The Mark II vs Mark IV battle is one of the most personal showdown between two characters since i think Kurosawa´s Throne of Blood, in which two friends, a General and a Captain, are trapped in a forest where a Spirit tells them they will be Lord and General, respectively, in the near future but that ultimately they will cause each other´s death...or of course The Count of Monte Cristo final sword fight between old time friends. (yes also Luke trying to redeem his father comes to mind)
===Best line in the movie:
"You don´t have to do this alone."..and of course also THE BEST LINE OF THE MOVIE: "I am gonna say this only one time...GET-OUT!!"
____NICK FURY/THE AVENGERS INICIATIVE____
---11) The biggest let down as a fan but at the same time, since Favreau stated clearly that he wanted this movie to stand by its own, it is then understandable that all the Avengers-related stuff were less than even subtle material in the film.. for the general public, i don´t think they understood what Fury was talking about in the Donut´s scene (the worst of the movie IMO)..Black Widow´s costumed presence in that scene was soooooooo horrible, and Samuel L. Jackson´s performance in that scene was soooo bad, i think it could have been deleted without hurting the Avengers weak subplot (until the final talk between them i mean)
SLJ´s acting in the balcony scene, where he tells Tony that his father had a wider plan for the technology of the future, is 100% different to the Donuts one. In that one, he does look like the authoritarian figure that Fury is supposed to represent in the espionage world.
The unfinished CAPTAIN AMERICA´S circular Shield that Agent Coulson finds in Tony´s shop is a nice detail, and surely General Public reacted as well, but Coulson´s only line to the object: "do you know what that is?", Tony replying "just what i needed"(to level a long shaft) and not adding anything more made it seem just like a production Prop and not as a piece of The Avengers MCU puzzle.
The Final talk in which the BW´s report states that she doesn´t recommend Tony for the Avengers Iniciative and Fury stating that "At this point, we only want you as a consultant", completely TURNED ME OFF and made it look like: hey the Avengers Movie is ON HOLD, so hold on.. get it? lol!! (ok,whatever)
__THE FINAL BATTLE___
---12)Once we have the Mark II armor modified ("proudly") by Hammer´s weaponry and Vanko´s Droids that he built in the Hammer Facilities, presented in the Stark EXPO, is where the movie takes on unlimited action!!
Yes, the action scenes were few, but they are epic. When Black Widow reaches Vanko´s hideout in Hammer facilities, she resets the War Machine Armor so Rhodey can fight alongside IM to stop the drones and later on fight the new Whiplash armor with Ivan himself inside.
I thought, oh yeah sure, Ivan left the computers on line and ready to use, but when i give second thoughts about it, it has logic, since as mentioned above, Ivan wanted this to happen..It is he and not Hammer, who pulls the strings all the time, fooling even SHIELD.
__THE AFTER CREDITS SCENE__
Well if you have got this far, or if you SKIPPED THIS WHOLE MESS OF A REVIEW then you should already know that Agent Coulson´s reasignment was to corroborate "something" found in the New Mexico desert, the "Land of Enchanment".. a good scene, worthy the 10 minutes that me and other 5 or 7 guys and gals around waited to see. A huge crater Coulson sees from the distance,being studied by the military, then calling Fury to say "Sir, We FOUND IT"... as the Camera moves left inside the crater to show no other thing but Thor´s 616 Marvel Comics Universe Hammer...standing facing down to the ground.
A very very nice connection to the next MCU installment next year (and also confirming Coulson´s appearence in that as well)
___CONCLUSION__
The movie has an ending. Tony is healthy, in Love, he recovered his friend´s trust, the Public approval regained, and open to the Avengers Iniciative..
So I am gonna give it 4.7 out of 5 SirJediFrank´s Light Sabers
(the 0.3 is because of the lack of more screen time action in the final battle, and Whiplash could have easily kicked both of WM and IM asses if he had wanted to.I mean, the "Ex-Wife" was the better comedy-relief i´ve seen in years, but unless Ivan KNEW it wasn´t gonna do a thing,well..)
THANKS FOR READING!! So What dou guys think?
PS: CBM.com RULES!!