Iron Man 2 (2010)- More Iron Man

Far away in Russia, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) receives the plans for the Arc reactor (chest reactor) on his father's deathbed, and immediately starts working on it. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) makes his usual grand entrance at the Stark Expo in the U.S., but backstage he shows his sadness. Tony then attends a hearing to debate the need to hand over the Iron-man-suit to quell a public crisis, and with his sharp words and technical know-how, succeeds in convincing the public that the Iron-man-suit should be in his private hands. Meanwhile, Tony's company is in a mess due to his negligence in managing the company. Tony decides to appoint Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) as the new CEO. On the other hand, Tony's new assistant, Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson), has a fascinating story to tell.

2 main storylines in the story:

1. Tony's journey of self-redemption.

The story reveals that Palladium, the energy source of the Arc reactor, has poisoned Tony's body, and that wearing the Iron man suit has worsened the situation. Tony is at his wit's end, and has tried to replace it with other elements, but to no avail. Tony is in the countdown phase of his life, unable to talk to anyone and living a life of emptiness, he can only narcotize himself with insane pleasures, and is on the road to self-destruction. The appearance of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) causes Tony to re-examine his relationship with his father and offers him a chance for survival.

2. the villain's attack:

Ivan's father and Tony's father were once partners, but they have turned against each other. Ivan has traveled all the way from Russia to take revenge on Tony. Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), an arms dealer who has been taunted by Tony on several occasions, is a perfect match for Ivan. Ivan begins his quest for revenge under Justin's protection. The two characters are clearly characterized as typical villains. However, the movie has been made to be funny, and the ability and temperament of an arms dealer's boss has been greatly undermined.

The story is also enriched by the addition of new and existing characters:

• Tony and Pepper's relationship takes a turn for the worse as their roles are changed and there is a lot of friction between them. In the end, with the fireworks as a backdrop, their relationship finally breaks through.
• Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes (Don Cheadle) is rumored to have been replaced by another actor due to contractual reasons. The new actor's approach to the role is slightly different, and there is a noticeable increase in the number of scenes in this episode. Rhodey and Tony have an intense clash, and he has a new code name - War Machine.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. finally makes its official debut, and the team is off and running with a bang!

The movie maintains the same high tech feel and is even more "hip" than the first episode (2008). Tony's studio is filled with the first episode's Generation 1-3 Iron-man-suits and the first appearance of Generation 4 Iron-man-suit, as well as a lot more automated robots. As the series progresses, the suitcase-style, portable Generation 5 Iron-man-suit and the much more powerful Generation 6 Iron-man-suit are introduced. The way of dressing also varies slightly according to the different Iron-man-suits, which shows that the props team has taken great care of it.

However, the action design is not as good as in the first episode.

• The first battle is weak, and the fight is short.
• The second battle is a friendly fight with Iron-man-suits, with no tension.
• The third battle is very slow, Iron man keeps wandering back and forth in the city, letting the villain attack and destroy the city without fighting back.
• The final battle with the villain is just a slapdash affair.

As Marvel's first film after being acquired by Disney, the film is a little bit more funny, with more bickering, more jokes, more characters such as bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau, who also directs the film) and senator Senator Stern (Garry Shandling) interspersed throughout the film. They all have a sense of humor and are marketed to the kids, so that Disneyland can benefit as well.

The Marvel Universe's Phase One, 3rd movie hints that Thor will be making an appearance in the next movie.

* Marvel's father Stan Lee (mistakenly identified by Tony as Larry King after the expo) has a 2-3 second cameo, as does Elon Musk (a guest at the reception before the Moroccan race).

Recommendation: 7.5 (excellent in one way, recommended)