Marvel Mania: MCU Phase 1- Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 (2010)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Don Cheadle
Directed by: Jon Favreau


Plot Summary: After revealing to the world that he is Iron Man, Tony Stark has become a superstar and icon for promoting world peace. Promising the government that enemy forces are decades away from re-creating his technology, Tony is treated like a god for his contributions to technology. However, not all is well with Tony, as he finds that the palladium cores that are fueling his arc reactor is slowly poisoning him. On top of that, Ivan Vanko, a brilliant Russian physicist whose father worked with Tony's father, has built his own unique suit powered by an arc reactor. Teaming up with Stark's business rival Justin Hammer, Vanko vows to make "god" bleed, thus causing people to stop believing in Tony Stark.


Nowadays, we have had so many successful movies in the MCU that people are waiting for a movie to come along that falls flat. People were expecting it with Guardians of the Galaxy, people are expecting it for Ant-Man, and the biggest question is "Why?" For the last 7 years, Marvel Studios has brought forward great movies with their own plots, while also being able to expand the universe for a much bigger picture. Now normally, Marvel knows not to focus too much on the latter in fear of sacrificing the plot and characters of the movie, but there was one time where Marvel went TOO FAR. They made a movie that is so universally despised by fans of the MCU that they instantly learned how to NOT make a movie in their universe. I am of course referring to Iron Man 2. At one time, this movie was very highly anticipated by moviegoers. I know personally that I was psyched for it to come out, but then when it was released it left a very bitter taste in the mouths of the fans. So what was it about this anticipated blockbuster that bomb so hard with viewers?

Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark. One of the biggest complaints I have about this movie is the handling of Stark's character. After all that development from the first movie, it seems as though he's reverted back to square one. He's always constantly having to learn from his mistakes, and is once again back to his impulsive ways. And the worst part about it is the explanation. The best reason the movie has for his behavior is that he is in fear of him dying. WHAT?!?!? Why would he react that way just because he thinks he's dying?!?!? Why would he shut everyone out?!?!? I know some people are prone to doing that in life and death situations, but for Stark it just comes out of nowhere. The relationship with him and Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, continues in the smallest sense of the phrase. It's mindless banter for the sake of humor, and it doesn't really go anywhere. And the complaints have only just begun...

Iron Man 2 also has the introduction of two new superheroes. Technically one and a half, because the character of Lt. Colonel James Rhodes returns, this time played by Don Cheadle. Cheadle is definitely a better actor than Terrence Howard, but I'd say Howard fills out the War Machine costume a little better. It's hard to explain, but I never actually believed Cheadle would put on that suit to fight crime. The other hero introduced is Natasha Romanoff, played by Scarlett Johansson. Romanoff goes by the codename Black Widow, and at least adds some excitement when she gets to fight. Other than that, she's just a tease of what's to come in The Avengers. She wasn't bad, I'll give her that, but I'll also say that she wasn't 100% necessary to be in this film either.

We get two new villains in this film, starting with Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke. Rourke was fresh off the success of The Wrestler, so moviegoers were waiting to see him absolutely deliver here and give a memorable performance. That is NOT what we got. I don't think there is a single villain in the MCU that people could have cared about less than Vanko. He's just a Russian accent who can build technology. No other backstory. No motivations we actually care about. He's just there to fill the role of villain. The other villain is Stark's business rival Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell. Rockwell is another good actor who isn't given much to do. He's got the right amount of arrogance for the part, but also knows when to play him as a cowardly weasel. I just wish he would tone it down a bit in his delivery, because he goes over the top WAY TOO MUCH. Just listening to the scenes between Vanko and Hammer are enough to annoy any viewer.

The biggest question for Iron Man 2 is "What went wrong?" The best answer is simple: they thought they could get away with spending more time building towards The Avengers than actually trying to continue the story set in Iron Man. There's certainly an idea or two here that work, but the filmmakers were thinking way too big for this project. If they wanted to introduce Black Widow, or continue the stuff with Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, then they could've and probably should've made a movie about S.H.I.E.L.D. If they wanted to emphasize that Tony was in danger of dying and having it tie into his alcoholism, then they should've made it more serious and showed WHY he was so concerned. And for goodness sake, if you have an idea to make Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke your villains...DON'T WASTE THEIR TALENTS! I'm glad Marvel has learned from their mistakes on how to do their movies now, but fans still aren't convinced. It's because of Iron Man 2 that they are still waiting for the day that they screw things up for the MCU again, and with tons of new characters being introduced in standalone films coming in Phase 3, they will be watching intently to pick apart the one movie that didn't get it right.

If you were actually strong enough to make it to the end of the movie, here's my thoughts on the post-credits scene, full of *SPOILERS* for your enjoyment...

We cut to Agent Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, arriving in New Mexico on a special assignment from S.H.I.E.L.D. We cut to a big crater in the ground and at the center of the crater is a closeup of Mjölnir, the hammer of THOR! It's another short and effective Easter egg that sets up what's coming down the road for Marvel. Add a scene earlier in the film involving Stark, Coulson, and Captain America's shield, and you had the revelation that TWO of the Avengers' biggest players were on their way to the big screen. Once again we see that in this film the most memorable parts are the plugs for the future projects. Can we just forget this movie exists? Or at lest refuse to call it a movie? I hereby announce that to me, Iron Man 2 is a 2 hour trailer for Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers.


Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

This movie is just a big disappoint. Rather than continuing the story to benefit the character of Tony Stark, Iron Man 2 just becomes a 2 hour advertisement for The Avengers. Granted this is the film that introduced Black Widow to the MCU, but that doesn't save this movie from being completely underwhelming. As a standalone movie, a movie in the Iron Man franchise, and a movie in the MCU, feel free to skip this movie entirely.

Iron Man 2 and movie images are copyrighted by Paramount Pictures