Iron Man 2 (2010) Review

"Sir!  I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the donut."

-Nick Fury

Six months after the events of the first film, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is more famous than ever and has fully embraced being Iron Man.  However, the arc reactor in his chest that keeps him alive is slowly killing him.  As Tony faces his own mortality, two dangerous foes look for the opportunity to strike; his industrial rival, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), and Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), a physicist with a lifelong grudge against the Stark family.

What Works:

I know a lot of people don't like Iron Man 2, but I enjoy it.  It doesn't have much in the way of plot, but if you look at the film as a character study, it's interesting.  We have a superhero who is facing his own death and the movie is primarily about his reaction to that knowledge.  With Robert Downey Jr.'s brilliant performance, Iron Man 2 works as a study of Tony Stark and the villains' evil plot is almost like a backdrop to the personal drama.

Speaking of brilliant performances, it's a crying shame that Sam Rockwell has never returned to the MCU.  He's hilarious as Justin Hammer and steals the spotlight every time he is on screen.  He and RDJ have brilliant chemistry and they only needed more screen time together.

I really like the character development for Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Rhodey (Don Cheadle).  Their reactions to Tony's behavior makes the film even more interesting.  I like how angry they get with Tony and their interactions are fascinating.  This film also works as a psuedo-origin story for Rhodey and how he becomes War Machine, which is another interesting element.

Finally, giving more screen time to Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) was an excellent call.  They are both hilarious and I love watching them put Tony in his place.  They don't overdo it either.  We get just enough of them sprinkled in.

What Sucks:

As I said above, there isn't much in the way of plot for this film.  Tony is entirely separate from Hammer and Ivan for the 2nd act.  It would have been nice to have him interact with them more in the middle of the film.

I liked Mickey Rourke, but he didn't get enough to do.  He was pretty funny, especially in his interactions with Hammer, but I know a lot of his scenes were cut out, which Rourke wasn't very happy about.  It's a shame, I would have liked to see more, especially in the 3rd act.  The final battle between Tony and Rhodey and Ivan is way too short and very disappointing.

Finally, the scene where Tony figures out his father, Howard (John Slattery), discovered a new element and hid it in a map of his Expo is entirely implausible and makes no sense.  This element just so happens to be what will save Tony's life?  Come on.  This is incredibly stupid and should have been completely rewritten.

Verdict:

Iron Man 2 gets a lot of flack and it is a flawed film.  Mickey Rourke is underused, the final battle is too short, the plot is thin, and the stuff with Howard has an incredibly stupid resolution, but the film works as a character study of Tony Stark, the acting is great all around, the comedy is solid, and Sam Rockwell is simply the best.  It's nowhere near the best film in the MCU, but it has certainly got it going on.

 7/10: Good