Iron Man 2 (movie review)

I was amongst the lucky ones who was able to attend a special screening of Iron Man 2 last night. Anybody who knows me knows that I’m a superhero and comic geek. I would be the very first in line to watch Superman, Batman, any movie that has superheroes, really (even the really stupid ones like ‘Not Another Superhero Movie’). I am a devoted fan of X-Men, and Spiderman has owned my heart for years.

When I first wrote about Iron Man 2, wanting to go see it (the first movie was a surprisingly good one), I was a bit worried that the sequel to the first movie would be bad. You know how these things happen. Batman was great, Batman 2 began the debacle. For the most part, the Mexican saying “segundas partes nunca fueron buenas” (sequels have never been good) applies. Not in Iron Man 2, though. The sequel is as good as the first movie.

In Iron Man 2, we find a Tony Stark who has revealed to the world that he is Iron Man. He protects the people, and to the government of the United States, obviously, this is a threat because the weaponized suit gives Stark a monopoly over who gets to be the hero. The movie pits Iron Man/Tony Stark against a slew of villains, the government of the US one of them, a renegade Soviet specialist in weapons (Ivan Vanko/Whiplash) and a competitor in the business of providing technology to the government (Justin Hammer). As Stark mentions in one line of the movie, “he successfully privatized world peace”. In this movie, Robert Downey Jr. becomes again one of my favorite actors. He humanizes Stark to a fault. Iron Man isn’t your typical superhero who has mutant powers or has been bitten by a radioactive spider. He’s a human who develops the technology and the skills to become a superhero. But inside the semi-indestructible Iron Man suit, there’s a human being who is capable of feeling sadness, loss, anger, love and happiness.

Tony Stark is a billionaire who is bent on protecting the world at his own expense and putting himself and the people who love him the most at risk (primarily his secretary, Pepper Potts, a Gwyneth Paltrow who also redeems herself by being strong yet feminine – I never really adored Paltrow since she won that Oscar I still don’t think she deserves for Shakespeare in Love, but in this movie, I really really like her – ). Jon Favreau, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Sam Rockwell as the villain Justin Hammer, Don Cheadle in a great performance as Iron Man’s sidekick War Machine, and the always lovely Mickey Rourke as Whiplash round the cast.

I am giving Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanov, Black Widow) a special mention and a word of praise because, against all odds, against my own better judgement, and against my own predictions, she BECOMES Black Widow. Displaying an amazing versatility as a superheroine of her own, Black Widow helps Iron Man and War Machine in their battle against Whiplash and Hammer. Rockwell gives his usual “I’m bad but suave” performance, a bit of a disappointment since I saw a very similar character in Charlie’s Angels.

But the movie is, overall, amazing. There are, obviously, some corny, too-Hollywood-for-my-liking moments. But, without giving the rest of the plot away (which probably is online by now on Wikipedia, quite frankly), I would encourage my readers to go see Iron Man 2. It’s a great spring/summer movie and can’t wait for a sequel that has Black Widow as the main character.

Side note: stay until the end of the movie, after the credits. They give away an important element that you may want to see!

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