The inevitable sequel…
The Context
After Iron Man’s success, a sequel was inevitable. Remember when a sequel (or maybe a trilogy) was enough? While this was being produced through 2009, it was announced that Marvel Studios were being purchased by Disney, so this was the last movie they made (officially) without the big mouse’s approval.
Don Cheadle was brought in to replace Terrence Howard as James Rhodes. Also joining the cast was Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell on villain duty, and a certain Scarlett Johansson (a last minute replacement for first choice Emily Blunt) as ‘Natalie Rushman’ / Natasha Romanov / Black Widow. That one worked out pretty well.
Beyond this sequel though, Iron Man‘s success had also given the studio the confidence to move forward with their ambitious plans to start leading their comic book universe full throttle towards a grand Avengers cross-over. The plan was to bring this somewhat grounded, tech-based Iron Man world together with more fantastical elements of Thor and Captain America, which had also been announced as in production to complete the road-map towards 2012.
I can’t remember if I saw this at the cinema or not, but I remember not thinking much of it. The re-watch was more rewarding…
The Film
Dir: Jon Favreau
I’ll get the not-so-good out the way first. The movie itself has received a mixed reception over the years, and I can see why. It plays for a while with as much swagger as Tony Stark itself, and though the confidence is fitting, it does mean for the uninitiated there is a lack of connection to the characters for a good portion of the film. There are a number of plot-points and characters being thrown at you during the first act. Russian Mickey Rourke is angry and has a parrot; Sam Rockwell is a charming poor-man’s Tony Stark.
And these villains are definitely one of the weak spots, despite the formidable acting talent involved. Mickey Rourke is on record as hating the final cut as it apparently cut a lot of his character’s complexity and reduced him to completely one-dimensional – and it’s hard to argue when his character just likes building robots and feeding his parrot. Sam Rockwell is a fun flawed gun-runner, but isn’t particularly threatening, and the they both ultimately fall into the obvious ‘build an evil iron man’ plot pit.
Another annoyance I’ve heard a lot is that the plot is messy and there is too many side-plots and characters. While I understand that the story has a lot going on, with the film being lumbered a lot of heavy lifting in setting up Avengers, re-watching now I can indulge more in the characters I know so much more about. Tony’s daddy issues and the reveal of his recorded message, while a bit contrived first time through, are given more weight by the fact that see more of Howard Stark going forward and particularly his fate in Captain America: Civil War. It’s fun seeing Tony ogle Scarlett Johansson as much as I often do considering that they are so much more platonic in later appearances. You get generous if somewhat unnecessary appearances from Samuel L Jackson and Clark Gregg to further the S.H.I.E.L.D developments and the whole thing plays out like an Avengers prequel, which obviously is less effective before that movie exists, but is full of nice details now.
The characters from the first film get the chance to develop, and Gwyneth Paltrow’s exasperated Pepper Potts is still a wonderful foil to Tony Stark’s foibles. Jon Favreau gives himself a bit more to do on screen to comic effect, and his direction is still fun, if perhaps unremarkable. The new blood is fantastic though. Scarlett Johansson gives us a glimpse of the ass-kicking to come while her flirty office persona charms me as much as Tony – “I want one”, he says – and Don Cheadle is more likeable than Terrence Howard and feels more like a heroic side-kick. His opening line, that accompanies the cast-change reveal – is a fantastic wink at the audience expecting Terrence Howard – “Look, it’s me, I’m here. Deal with it. Let’s move on”.
Ultimately then, Iron Man 2 is an enjoyable film with some surprisingly patient character development for Tony Stark in particular. There are some pacing issues – some scenes are unnecessary, and it would be interesting to know what of Mickey Rourke was left on the cutting room floor. The scope is a bit limited and it’s definitely a much more personal story than a big superhero spectacle. It plays out well for fans; it’s hard to know what the less initiated would make of it.
Verdict
Not as bad as many say, with some lovely character moments if you ignore the duller ‘bad robot’ elements. Definitely watch before Avengers, but also afterwards, as it plays very differently.
It’s all connected…
- John Slattery makes his first appearance as Howard Stark. The character will return in various follow-ups, played by Slattery again in Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War and Dominic Cooper as his younger self in Captain America: The First Avenger and its TV spin-off Agent Carter.
- Tony props up his home-made hadron collider with a very familiar looking prototype shield from Howard Stark’s collection.
- The Incredible Hulk actually takes place at the same time as this movie, as you very briefly see a live news story from Culver University:
- This means that Tony’s appearance at the end of Incredible Hulk actually happens after Fury hires him as a ‘consultant’ for his “fabulous furry freak brothers” at the end of the film.
- Agent Coulsen is called out to an incident in New Mexico, and in a post-credit scene we see the reason why – a hammer stuck in a rock. Thor also effectively takes place at the same time as this story, then.
- It’s unofficial, but this kid that Tony saves from a drone is Peter Parker, according to Tom Holland:
Charlie Says
There was too much shirtless Micky Rourke. She also promises more Thor-tful contributions going forward.
Next Week… Thor
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