How many movie sequels can you recall which went a notch higher than the first movie in the franchise? A few, right? But, not all. Out of those few is Iron Man 2. Released in 2010, Iron Man 2 is a movie that reliably takes the MCU further and shows us a glimpse of what a team (ahem…ahem…Avengers) might look like. This movie shows us Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) basking in his newfound fame and glory as the armoured superhero and tackling the dangers that come with it.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW HOW AWESOME THE MOVIE IS OR WANT TO AVOID DEETS ABOUT OTHER MARVEL MOVIES!
Starting From Familiar Territory
The movie begins with a scene from a forsaken alley in the streets of Moscow when we see a man watching TV, where Tony is addressing the press conference which we saw at the end of the first movie. The cinematography is such that we know from the dark room, the helpless man watching a rich playboy hogging the limelight and the ominous music that we are about to witness a revenge story (and we love them, don’t we?).
The sick man calls out to Ivan (played by Mickey Rourke) and tells him that he can only give him his knowledge. After he dies, Ivan takes out the blueprint of the Arc reactor, jointly worked upon by Howard Stark and Anton Vanko (which we now know was the sick man and Ivan’s father, played by Eugene Lazarev) and starts building something.
The process of his build is very similar to that of how Stark started building his first armour in the cave where he was kept after being captured. After some tinkering, Ivan creates a workable miniaturised version of the Arc reactor himself. Very Stark-ish.
Interaction Between the Characters of the Iron Man 2 Cast
Another highlight of the movie was the interaction between specific pairs of characters.
My personal favourite pair is Stark and Rhodey (played by Don Cheadle). I believe their chemistry is one of the pillars of the movie, whether they are on the same side or standing against one another. Their quips, Stark’s witty comments, and Rhodey bluntly shutting down Stark on various occasions all add to the humour quotient of the movie.
Another favourite pair for me is Ivan and Justin Hammer (played by Sam Rockwell). Hammer broke Ivan out of prison to have him create iron soldiers for Hammer’s presentation at the Stark Expo, but he got betrayed in the end. However, the multiple conversations between Ivan and Hammer are very entertaining (I love Hammer’s dramatic antics!)
The dynamic between Stark and Pepper (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) remains as hilarious and even endearing (in this movie) as ever. Owing to Stark’s spontaneous nature, he makes Pepper the CEO of his company, and we see hilarious interactions between the two after that.
Let’s not forget the pair of Stark and Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson). These two together make the recipe for peak entertainment. Plus, Stan Lee’s cameo, with him being mistaken by Tony for the radio presenter Larry King, was also very funny. It was funnier because he was mistaken in the first movie as well for Hugh Hefner.
If you want to read my Iron Man movie review, you can do it here.
Introducing the Black Widow
Natasha Romanoff (played by Scarlet Johansson) was a standout performance in Iron Man 2. Coming in as the unassuming Natalie from ‘legal’ to help out with the transition process for Pepper to take over as the CEO of Stark Industries to putting her Red Room skills into action when she arrives at Hammer Industries to take down Ivan, she strongly made her mark.
Sent by Nick Fury to keep an eye on Stark, she performs her duty as a double agent (or maybe a triple agent; honestly, it’s hard to tell) too well. She plays her role of a person from the legal team to finesse such that Pepper doesn’t get a hint of suspicion and simultaneously keeps tabs on Stark and his erratic behaviour.
She displays a glimpse of her skills when she single-handedly defeats 12 highly trained guards after she arrives at Hammer Industries with Happy Hogan (played by Jon Favreau, the director of Iron Man 1 and 2) and then goes on to hack into Rhodey’s suit at the end and reboots it, removing Ivan’s control on it. We can see why Nick Fury considers her as one of the best agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Who is the Bad Guy from Iron Man 2?
Mickey Rourke plays the role of Ivan Vanko aka Whiplash, one of Tony Stark’s main enemies from the comics. Although many other people have donned the Whiplash moniker in the comics, including his father, the MCU version has Ivan playing Stark’s nemesis. Mickey does good justice to the character, displaying ruthlessness and intelligence together.
Plus, how he deals with Justin Hammer, causing Hammer to lash out, is a pure treat to watch.
Best Scenes from Iron Man 2
Here are the scenes that defined the ‘wow!’ moments of the movie for me:
- The Iron Man landing at the inauguration of the Stark Expo at the beginning of the movie. Has to be the greatest superhero landing!
- The Monaco Grand Prix fight sequence and Stark’s suitcase suit. And when Happy hits Whiplash to pin him against the fence, Stark yells, “Were you heading for me or him? Cause I can’t tell!” Wholesome!
- When Natasha hits Stark with a dose of lithium dioxide to abate his palladium poisoning symptoms, he immediately says, “Oh God! Are you gonna steal my kidney and sell it?” That is so hilarious and spontaneous in typical Stark fashion.
- Nick Fury hands over Howard Stark’s belongings to Tony to help him figure out a replacement for the palladium core of the miniaturised Arc reactor and leaves by saying, “Remember, I got my eye on you.” What a pun!
- The whole process of Stark building a mini particle accelerator at his house. Additionally, Phil Coulson’s (played by Clark Gregg) no-nonsense attitude. Phil says, “We need you,” to which Stark replies, “Yeah, more than you know.” Phil then replies, “Not that much.”
- Stark’s landing when Hammer presents his drones at the Stark Expo. Gold.
- The conversation between Stark and Rhodey after Natasha reboots Rhodey’s suit. Lines like when Rhodey tells Stark, “No, it’s your fault. I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” and when Stark tells Rhodey, “You have a big gun, you are not the big gun.”
- The talk between Stark and Nick Fury when he shares Natasha’s assessment about Stark with him.
- The post-credits scene showing us the Mjolnir. Goosebumps.
Honestly, there are so many favourite scenes that mentioning them would mean writing down one-third of the movie script.
By the Way, Why Was Elon Musk in Iron Man 2?
In case you didn’t notice, Elon Mask had a cameo appearance when Stark arrives with Pepper and Natasha at the Monaco Grand Prix. With him being a real-life leader in innovative technologies, it was a great way to connect a real-life innovator with his reel counterpart. It was a fun, brief interaction.
On a final note, Iron Man 2 is a movie that you can watch as many times as you want and still not get bored of it. Even though the Iron Man 2 IMDb rating is 6.9, I believe every character carries the film strongly on their shoulders and the makers should be proud of the job they’ve done.
Let me just put it on and watch it again.
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