So, I know that this is a little later than one would expect it to be, but my "Iron Man 2" high was hard to come down from, and made me a little restless. Anyway, here is my review:
WARNING! SPOILERS!
OK, so let's start with the opening sequence that has Ivan Vanko and his dieing father, Anton Vanko((a man with the same name as the original Crimson Dynamo)). I found this to be an interesting sequence. You see, last year, I had a dream about this film. One thing that it had was Ivan in a dark room. I forget what he was doing, but he was in a dark room. In this sequence in the, actual, film: he's in a dark room. I enjoyed how it focused on his love for his father, and his hatred for Tony Stark. Also, I loved how it pointed out that this film begins before the end credits of the first film. You don't see that in a whole lot of films. You other films pick up where the one before it left off, but not during the film. Well, not that I can remember, anyhow. OH! And just to point something out: Ivan's Cockatoo that makes a slight noise in that sequence was awesome. It added to the effect of the character of Ivan Vanko.
Now on to the next sequence. It picks up a few months after the first film, and Tony is starting up the Stark Expo. Now: I would have thought that the Stark Expo would have taken, at least, two years of pre-production for Stark and his people. But, I need to get back on track. This sequence was, quite, entertaining and put into context how narcissistic Tony, really, is. I mean, here's a guy who created one of the greatest defense systems that his world has ever known, and he uses it to show off to the people. Heck: he's capitalizing on it! You see kids in the same toys that you can buy at your local Target. But, I digress.
Now, the courtroom was an interesting scene. It was preceded by a brief appearance of Kate Mara, as a governmental agent. I had hoped that she would have played Bethany Cabe or Sharon Carter, but whatever. Anyway, the courtroom scene, or sequence, was interesting. It wasn't much more than we had seen in the trailers, other than some slight hints at the armor wars. I mean, they had enemy countries, and Justin Hammer, attempting to make their own Iron Men. This sequence did do a great job at showing who Justin Hammer is.
Now, on to some more((possibly out of order)) sequences that I found to be worth mentioning in this review. First: we have a brief piece where Ivan s getting a fake passport from a shady guy in an alleyway. Next: Monaco! This was one of the most awesome sequences in the film, and will probably go down in comic book film history as one of the most iconic. It's, basically, an extended version of what you've seen in the trailers, so there's not much more detail to go into. Next: the fight between Tony and Rhodey. It had the personality that they had in their multiple fights in the comics. Also: the use of objects and brute force, instead of all out tech, mirrored some of their comic book fights. I consider this to be my favorite part of the film because it seems to be the most authentic part. Now, there were many more sequences that are worth mentioning, I mean the whole movie is, but even so. Now for my character reviews.
Tony Stark: I think that they boosted his ego a little more, this time around. However: he had a reason to have an ego boost. He became a super hero. Having him have his shortcomings and some realizations about his father and his desire to do all that he can to protect the people, was a good stimulation to the character.
Pepper Potts: Giving her the job of CEO was a good thing to see. It gave her more power. Also: her growing annoyance at Tony was interesting. I'm glad that there wasn't a whole lot of the romance going on with the character, besides the big kiss at the end. Pepper went from being a second-rate character to a first-rate character in the film.
James Rhodes: First off, I want to point out that Don Cheadle did a much better job at capturing the essence of the character, than Terrance Howard did in the first film. It's odd, though. Terrance is a big fan of the character, but Don was better. I suppose that Terrance was more like the 70's and 80's Rhodey, and Don was more like the 90's and now Rhodey((the one that I am much more familiar with)). Even though Don doesn't look the part, he did a great job. The fact that they changed War Machine from being made by Stark, to being the Mark II armor with Hammer upgrades was great. I'd say that War Machine stole the show when he came on the Stark Expo stage. The character development was there with every step that he took. He went from standing up for Tony against the Senator in the beginning, to acting like Tony's nanny((and spanking his little iron butt)) in the middle, to being Tony's partner in crime fighting at the end. I hope to see him in "The Avengers" as a supporting role((but hopefully not part of the team)).
Happy Hogan: Jon puts him self in his films. It's just something that we have to deal with. However: he went from having himself as Tony's fourth-rate chauffeur to being his third-rate, but kicking, body guard and sparing partner. This film portrayed Happy the way that he should have been portrayed in the first film. His little tussle with one of Hammer's guards was true to the comics.
Black Widow: Though lacking her, iconic, Russian accent: The Black Widow was an excellent addition to the characters. She did her job as a spy and kicked a lot of butt. Let's hope that she shows up in "The Avengers". I bet she will.
Howard Stark: Bringing in Howard Stark was a great idea. If they hadn't had him in the film so much, it wouldn't have been what it was. He was a driving force in the film and helped Tony through some of his struggles. I'm looking forward to seeing him in "Captain America" next year.
Nick Fury: First showing up after the credits of the first film, attempting to get Tony join the Avengers, Nick stayed his course and then some, in this film. He was a lot like Howard Stark, in this film. He helped Tony out, and still managed to be himself...greatly. I'm looking forward to seeing him in "Captain America" next year.
Agent Phil Coulson: Phil had a little more of a role in this film than he did in the first one, and did great as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s watchdog. He left, during the film, to go to New Mexico, and showed up after the credits informing Nick that they found "it". "It" being Mjolnir: the hammer of Thor. This got me VERY excited about "Thor", which Phil will be in.
Anton Vanko: I know that he wasn't in the film, much, but he seemed like a presence to me. Kind of like The Mandarin in the Ten Rings parts of the first film, and Sauron in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. He was the driving force behind Ivan, and I consider him to be one of the most important characters in the film.
Ivan Vanko: Though not having as much screentime as one would have expected, the character did a great job in this film. The main idea of the film is legacy. That's what Ivan was all about in this film. That was his drive. His motivation. It's the reason that he turned on Justin Hammer. He didn't care about anybody but himself, his deceased father, and his bird. He stood strong as a villain through the whole film.
Justin Hammer: Though an elderly man in the comics, Justin was made into a man of about 35 in the film. This seemed to be a way to make him more of a competitor in many aspects...particularly sexually. The fact that he was on a "date" with Christine Everheart((a reporter from the comics and the first film)) was an "in your face" kind of thing at Tony. Sam Rockwell did a great job as Justin Hammer, and it is sad that this is his only performance as Justin.
Mjolnir: I know that Mjolnir is a hammer and was only shown for less than 30 seconds after the credits, but the presence of Mjolnir was epic and worth bringing up.
Thank you for your time.
J. J. Meylar
Making fiction believable...