Iron Man Returns (Spoilers!)
Iron Man 2 had a lot to live up to. The first movie had humor, style, an unexpected ending, and an even more unexpected surprise ending. Many superhero movies have a stellar second installment: Spider-Man, X-Men, and the new Batman movies. Does Iron Man 2 follow the pattern?
Unfortunately, I don't think so. The film had many really good moments, and a lot of potential, but ultimately it felt unsatisfying. I think this was primarily due to its pace. There are two or three basic storylines in the movie.
One is Tony Stark and his fatal palladium poisoning from his arc reactor chestpiece, leading to his own personal crisis. The second storyline follows the US government's quest to obtain Stark's suit, which gets Rhodes involved. And the third storyline is sort of like two similar storylines. Ivan Vanko hates the fact that Howard Stark didn't give his father his due credit with developing the arc reactor, and decides to take revenge on Tony Stark, with the assistance of Justin Hammer, Stark's competitor in the weapons industry. There are other developments as well, but the story focuses around these three main things.
The problem was with the pacing. The first two-thirds was more dialogue-based, and the action was mostly packed into the end. Also, the action wasn't as developed as it could have been, especially that final battle with Vanko, aka Whiplash. It started, and soon afterwards, it just randomly ended. Also, the big action scene with Black Widow felt poorly edited and just too frenetic.
The dialogue was on point, and Stark was as funny as usual. Don Cheadle was fine as Rhodes, and the other cast members did a good job. I liked how the two villains here foiled Tony Stark. Hammer was the foil to Stark, and Whiplash the foil to Iron Man. Seeing War Machine in action was also very nice.
And the secret ending? It was pretty cool, but I did read a while ago about a scene in Thor set in New Mexico, and when SHIELD kept mentioning New Mexico, I had a strong feeling we were going to see that. I just wish we actually saw the character. And I also wish they hinted towards the mandarin in the movie, as they did in the first.
I really feel this movie would have been better with better pacing, and more action with the villains. Especially that final battle, you would think Stark could've developed some special armor so he wouldn't get super caught in Whiplash's whips so easily. This movie is a decent prequel to The Avengers, but as a standalone Iron Man sequel, things could've been better. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars, but things may change on a rewatching.
Unfortunately, I don't think so. The film had many really good moments, and a lot of potential, but ultimately it felt unsatisfying. I think this was primarily due to its pace. There are two or three basic storylines in the movie.
One is Tony Stark and his fatal palladium poisoning from his arc reactor chestpiece, leading to his own personal crisis. The second storyline follows the US government's quest to obtain Stark's suit, which gets Rhodes involved. And the third storyline is sort of like two similar storylines. Ivan Vanko hates the fact that Howard Stark didn't give his father his due credit with developing the arc reactor, and decides to take revenge on Tony Stark, with the assistance of Justin Hammer, Stark's competitor in the weapons industry. There are other developments as well, but the story focuses around these three main things.The problem was with the pacing. The first two-thirds was more dialogue-based, and the action was mostly packed into the end. Also, the action wasn't as developed as it could have been, especially that final battle with Vanko, aka Whiplash. It started, and soon afterwards, it just randomly ended. Also, the big action scene with Black Widow felt poorly edited and just too frenetic.
The dialogue was on point, and Stark was as funny as usual. Don Cheadle was fine as Rhodes, and the other cast members did a good job. I liked how the two villains here foiled Tony Stark. Hammer was the foil to Stark, and Whiplash the foil to Iron Man. Seeing War Machine in action was also very nice.
And the secret ending? It was pretty cool, but I did read a while ago about a scene in Thor set in New Mexico, and when SHIELD kept mentioning New Mexico, I had a strong feeling we were going to see that. I just wish we actually saw the character. And I also wish they hinted towards the mandarin in the movie, as they did in the first.
I really feel this movie would have been better with better pacing, and more action with the villains. Especially that final battle, you would think Stark could've developed some special armor so he wouldn't get super caught in Whiplash's whips so easily. This movie is a decent prequel to The Avengers, but as a standalone Iron Man sequel, things could've been better. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars, but things may change on a rewatching.
posted by DarthDooku at
10:16 PM
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