The first in our Top 5…Iron Man 2

In 2010, Robert Downey Jr returned in Iron Man 2, as the witty and ever so charming, Tony Stark, in the sequel to the 2008 hit, Iron Man. And well, Downey pretty much delivers  perfectly, in the portrayal of Stark, as he did in the first movie, with his comical and sarcastic, yet oddly serious, view on life.

With Tony Stark’s alter-ego Iron Man now being compromised, the United States put pressure on Stark from all angles to force him to share his state-of-the-art technology with the military. Disinclined to do this, Stark must put his trust in new allies, and old allies, including the lovely Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), as well as encountering new and deadly enemies.

Now, me, being a big fan of Iron Man 1, was expecting great things from this sequel, and overall, it did deliver in more or less all aspects. As mentioned, the portrayal of Stark was excellent, and there was a relatively serious plot to the film, with a fitting combination of drama, suspense, and might I add, a much larger dose of comedy than its predecessor, which I especially enjoyed. In terms of action, it did deliver, although nowhere near as much as I expected, with only a few actions scenes, not long in duration, compared to the first Iron Man, which contained prolonged scenes of explosive action. However, I found the remainder of the film interesting enough and well produced to not let this this decrease in action affect my view on the film…although a little bit more action wouldn’t have hurt anyone.

Although I’m not hugely familiar with Mickey Rourke’s previous work, I must say that I found his performance as Ivan Vanko, a.k.a Whiplash, to be a powerful and convincing one; a cold man, determined to rival Stark’s technology, agreeing to help Justin Hammer (played by Sam Rockwell), a rival of Stark’s, who had been publicly embarrassed for producing failed attempts of Stark’s technology. Vanko agrees to help produce improved products for Hammer, before the plot begins to unveil further.

One area I must say I am very disappointed with, is the role of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Everyone knows that Jackson is undoubtedly a legend in the movie industry, with brilliant roles in films such as Pulp Fiction. However, I get the vibe that his roles in recent films are beginning to seem less and less important, and dull. His role as Nick Fury did not stand out to me in any way. But who knows, perhaps he may re-ignite his classic talent in the up-coming Avengers movie. I enjoyed Don Cheadle’s role as Lt. James Rhodes, more popularly known as the badass that is of course, War Machine, who represents a firm and respectable ally of Stark’s.  However, I must admit I preferred Terrence Howard as Rhodes in Iron Man 1.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and, although I wouldn’t say it’s as good as  the first one, it came quite close, and is definitely worth watching, especially for the Iron Man fans out there, which is why this movie has veen placed at number 5..oh, and due to a surprisingly well played role from Scarlett Johansson, who provides good acting, as well as some stunning eye candy…

I give this movie a strong 4.1/5

Look out for the fourth in our top ten of 2010 at iHartMovies, which will be revealed tomorrow.

By Manpreet Singh

Related Articles

• Movie Review: Iron Man 2 (2010) (brighthub.com)
• Iron Man 2 [Blu-Ray] (cinemablend.com)

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