Iron Man 2 OFFICIAL: Rate & Review Iron Man 2

[BlackLantern]

but I liked Hans...well Die Hard redefined what an action movie could be and it still is a bar that people aspire to today

its also my favorite Christmas movie

 

[THE MR. TERRIFIC]

Good Flick! Liked it alot. Didn't love it. When I see it again I'll have an official rating.

 

[kedrell]

Well I guess my point is that at no time does Ivan cross over from being a decent bad guy to being a great one. And it's such a shame because all the elements were there to make it work. The acting/actor was excellent and had a real sense of menace about him. But he wasn't allowed to do anything that showed evil on a personal level. Gruber coldly killing Takagi was what started that character on the path from good villain to a great villain. Same with the Joker in TDK(the killing the Batman wannabe video coupled with the pencil trick), Anton Chigurgh killing the deputy and then creepily killing the innocent motorist, and Hans Landa having a long BS session with the frenchman before killing all the Jews under his house. Evil is best when it's smaller and personal.

 

[StanLee Wannabe]

For me it wasn't as good as the first time, but what lover ever is? Not far off the mark though.

Plot:
Absolutely friggin' loved the plot. Some have said that the trunk from SHIELD is a deus ex machina save - and Tony could have grappled with things more himself personally. I feel they played SHIELD perfectly and this was a more than serviceable way to make SHIELD relevant. It felt right.

I think they did a great job blending two comic arcs - Demon in A Bottle and Armor Wars. I'm sure some people would have loved to see DIAB stretched out over several movies...but to me they played it just right. Movies are different than comics (duh) and 3 or 4 movies with Tony grappling with alcoholism would have been lethargic and self-indulgent. While the true Armor Wars had a much different plot, the private armor vs government-sanctioned armor played out really well. More than that, it showed why there should be only one. (OK, maybe two, but not a whole army).

Acting:
Everyone gets an A+, with Favreau getting a B+. I liken this to when I'm teaching horeseriding and trying to ride at the same time. I'm a little distracted so I could be better if I was full-on. Rourke gets a B+ too. Not really for his acting, but for the fact that they wrote his character so one-note. There could have been a lot more depth there...but he doesn't get super-cartoony and makes the character believable.

Humor:
This is one of the places it really could have gotten a LOT tighter. Some of the humor worked (the kid with the IM mask, Happy sucking at fighting) but there were more that didn't - inside the car at the race track...in the office when Tony brings the strawberries...IM flying turning on the cars. They were all a little gratuitous at a point in the movie where it needed to be tighter. Also, I think they missed a cool visual with the kid in the IM mask/gauntlet...they should have put Tony behind him firing a repulsor and make the kid think the beam came from his glove

Action:
IM2 brought the heat! Loved the action in this one...but still wanted MORE!!! The fights in the last 3rd of the movie...and the party fight were both phen-freakin-nominal!!! If there would be any critique it would have been that the Monaco fight could have been more dynamic, maybe amp up that fight a third or so. Overall - done perfectly.

Character Treatment:
I thought all the characters were true to what they should have been. No glaring problems. We didn't have time for BlackWidow to get "enhanced". Loved those taser things she had. Whiplash wasn't even close to the real character, but for a movie universe he worked. Kind of a mix between Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo...but with a lot of parts taken out. As I said before, he was a bit one-note, but I can let that slide since a) there was a double-cross and b) we got more action from it.

Special FX:
Again, Favreau and team brought the heat. Loved the whips. Loved the inside the helmet, Tony's computer and WarMachine's suit. Great great great. Just needed a little more of it.

Kiddification:
Favreau did an awesome job here. For the most part it felt like an adult movie. The robotic servant arms weren't bad. Hell, they weren't Jar-Jar Binks at all. But you can tell they're slightly pandering with that character. Other than that, they treated the movie as if adults were watching. NICE!

Easter Eggs:
Cap's Shield - looked either like modern art or a wall clock - and I loved it! Asking to be the Secretary of Defense - ZING! Thor's hammer after the credits - this was a let down. First because dude...all they showed was a damn hammer and second because they waited until ALLL the damn credits rolled and it felt like forever - resulting in very little payoff. For God's sake...at least make some scene where they're tracking the thing on radar and we get to see the impact.

To sum up:
Did I like it! Yeah! Did I love it? Sure. Am I racing to go watch it again? Meh. Would I recommend it to friends. HELLZ yeah! Will I buy it? Of course. Great job guys. Now let's but 110% into the next one.

Result: 8/10

 

[Compi716]

Just saw it last night. I'm going to make this review short, sweet, and to the point. Everybody's said pretty much everything by this point.

I freaking loved this movie. It's everything I want in a comicbook flick. It's fun, got great action, well placed humor, and some real dramatic beats. I enjoyed every second of it, especially all the little SHIELD and Marvel nods. Sure, they didn't have to be there, but they were, and they were awesome. For lifelong comic fans, there's nothing better than watching what you love developing on the big screen.

9/10

 

[topdog1]

Agree with most. I've been looking forward to this movie for months and was NOT disappointed at all. Great film.

Robert Downey delivers and his Tony Stark still ranks right up there with the best performances of his stellar career. All the cast comes through in big, bright ways. Iron Man 2 delivers tremendous characters, impressive visuals, outstanding story, prodigious acting and amazing action. When the year is done, I can't see how it won't be on my top ten list. Is Iron Man the best superhero ever? That’s depending on taste but who really cares? It's the best of the past two years anyway.

I saw this last night and it was a true event movie. Seeing it in a packed house was like attending a very cool sporting event. Maybe that made the experience even better but I guarantee that this movie generates great word of mouth. I've heard comparisons in theme to "Wrath of Khan" and "Empire Strikes Back" and, honestly, that holds true. Darker than a very good original but still holds on to the same things that made the first film great.

9.5/10

 

[Immortalfire]

I enjoyed IM2 very much!

The cast is still rock solid. For the new additions, I think I liked Don Cheadle better than Terrance Howard..for me it was an age thing. Don is older, and to me had a look and tone of a more experienced fellow.

My sweet Scarlett...charming yet shady, which was expected considering her character. Well done

Mickey Rourke was cunning and diabolical. I wonder if I'm the only one that kept hearing Zaphod Beeblebrox whenever Sam Rockwell spoke?

The effects and action were top notch, and they continue to build up anticipation for the Avengers. Make sure you stay through the credits!

Only cons were it was slow going at first, but it soon finds it's roll..and a few lines were a little too corny. But overall, nothing mega to complain about for me. Iron Man 2 gets an 8 of 10.

 

[ashleyej21]

saw it last night. glad i got there early. it was packed. anyways...thought it was great. If it wasnt for the brilliant acting it wouldnt have been as good as it was. Even though Mickey didnt have alot of screentime he was awesome.
Throughout most of the movie, he is silent. His facial expressions, body language, and reactions to those around him reveal just enough about him to show the audience that he is a dangerous, vengeful man, but not so much that we can ever really be sure exactly what his ingenious mind is planning.

And wow Sam Rockwell blew me away too. He was so funny. And of course RDJ was awesome as Tony Stark.

The humor in the movie was great as well. Thats what i liked about the first Iron Man movie.

I give the movie an 8 out of 10.

 

[VenomVsSpidey]

you know what I just noticed? IM2 didn't have the awesome credits like the first did...

 

[ElMariachi]

you know what I just noticed? IM2 didn't have the awesome credits like the first did...

yeah, that was missed. I love credits with cool backdrops like the first Iron Man or Star Trek had.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Spoilers! Read at your own peril!

Iron Man 2 picks up right where the last film left off practically down to the moment. In Russia, Ivan Vanko sees his father die, and his father's dying words show hate for the Stark family. Vanko decides to make his own armor over the course of 6 months, and go after Tony Stark himself. Also, competitor Justin Hammer is trying in vain to replicate the Iron Man technology. Meanwhile, Tony Stark is faced with the ultimate questions of his life: how does he handle dying? The paladium that powers his mini-arc reactor is now poisoning his blood and slowly killing him. Tony becomes more and more reckless in his own life, fueling speculation that the Iron Man technology must be turned over to the military for safety purposes. Before Tony can fight the combined forces of Vanko and Hammer, he must first fight the demons within himself and come to terms with his past and present.

The first Iron Man film was a surprise in many respects. No one expected the film to be as good as it was or as successful. Iron Man 2 had a lot to live up to. It had to be a sequel to the smash hit. It had to expand the Marvel film universe. It needed to juggle many things, and it doesn't disappoint.

Just like the first film, Robert Downey Jr. shows why he was perfect for Tony Stark. He does look a bit older than the 6 month timeline the movie outlines, but it is not a distraction. Once he gets going, he is infinitely entertaining. I also feel Stark was a stronger character in this film. In the first Iron Man, Tony Stark's character arc ends once he returns from the Middle East. From then on, he knows what he must do and is always right. He doesn't grow much. In this film, Tony Stark has an arc throughout the whole film, and he grows during the entire film. Tony has to face his reckless nature, his mortality, and examine his relationship with his father. The writing is stronger in this respect, and Robert Downey Jr hits on all the right notes.

Stark's supporting cast of Pepper and Rhodey are great in the film, too. Pepper and Tony have great funny and underlying romantic elements going on that are gold to watch. Paltrow and Downey have great chemistry. I also have to say Don Cheadle was a much better Rhodey than Terrence Howard. Howard felt a bit meek to me as Rhodey, but Cheadle is very strong ad works much better. In this film, there is animosity between Tony and Rhodey over their visions of how to approach the Iron Man armor, and Cheadle's stronger take on the character I feel made this conflict more interesting than if Howard would have comeback. Happy gets a bigger role, but it doesn't serve much purpose and he doesn't add much but a couple of laughs. Scarlett Johanassen is okay as Natlia Romanov, but her character has little to work with. She has decent screentime, but her character is one note, always looks serious, and never really has character moments. This is in introduction to her character, but I feel more could have been done with her. She gets little to work with.

The film got a lot of hype around the castings of Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer and Mickey Rourke as Whiplash. More emphasis was on Rourke, but I feel Rockwell had the better performance and character. Ivan Vanko is not developed much more than he has a grudge against Tony Stark because of his father. I feel he needed more character growth. Justin Hammer, however, was very well developed. The route they went with Hammer was a good one, and kept the tone of the film consistant with the first film. He so badly wants what Stark has, and he is willing to get it by questionable means. He just lacks the brain to accomplish his goals. He is constantly overshadowed by Tony Stark, and this is what makes his character work. Sam Rockwell does a great job at being funny, awkward, and at times scary.

The action and special effects are great, but the final fight of the film is anti-climactic. For the time it spans, the fight is cool, but it ends extremely briefly. The end fight in the first Iron Man was much more satisfying in that regard.

How does Iron Man 2 stack up as a film furthering the Marvel Movie-verse agenda? I actually feel like this was an Iron Man movie more so than an Avengers set-up like many reviewers complained. We get a few nods like Captain America's shield and the after the credit scene showing us a certain thunder god may have arrived, but other than that, the film is mostly self-contained within the confines of the Iron Man franchise, and this is a good thing. We do get Natasha Romanov, some background on SHIELD, and a few mentions of the Avenger Initiative, but all those moments work within the confines of the film and don't feel like going off-topic to set-up the Avengers. They felt necessary to know in this film, and since this film is about Iron Man afterall, it is only right they did that.

Iron Man 2 has the heart that made the first film so awesome, and I feel it maintains its focus better than the first film did. However, I feel the first film is stronger overall. The first hour of Iron Man is better than Iron Man 2, but Iron Man 2 is better than Iron Man's 2nd hour. That said, Marvel can chalk up another success under their belt, and we now must wait patiently for the Avengers to come to fruition. The film has somewhat weak villains, but ultimately is entertaining. I am excited for the Avengers projects that are lined up, especially after seeing Iron Man 2, but I'd also like to see Favreau get another go at Iron Man in the future, too.

All in all, make mine Marvel! 3/5

 

[MrSpyder]

Loved it. Thor is next

 

[weezerspider]

I had to wait until I saw it again to rate it. I rated it a 8 on the poll, but I'd say its an 8.5/10. I really feel the DC with the extra 30 minutes can make the film a solid 9-9.5. There are just a few gripes I have that make this film fall. I'd say the first one is better, but I think I enjoyed this one more. The positives:

1.Acting- Everyone does a great job. The only one who seemed kind of lacking was Rourke, but that wasn't because of him, but because the story didn't really allow him to become a menacing villain. A+
2.Action- The biggest problem I had with the first one was the lack of action. It seemed to have too many droughts of action. That said, IM2 still has its droughts of action and the Whiplash battle at the end is extremely quick and lame, but there are a lot of great action scenes as well. Overall B
3. Story- The story itself is wonderful. They forced a little too much in it, but I loved the story. That extra 30 minutes could have easily made the story flow better.Overall A

Negatives:

1.Pacing- partly due to a ton of characters and ton of stuff to get through in 2 hours, the pacing is terrible. The beginning is moving way too fast, then the middle moves a little slow. Pacing is something that bugs me so this really hurt its grade IMO. Overall C
2. Editing- Let me just say, second time through I caught a lot of mess ups. One where Justin is talking to Pepper with his glasses on, shows Pepper, Shows Justin again and his glasses are gone. I know I'm a film nerd when it comes to this, but the continuity in editing is absolutely terrible! This mixed in with bad pacing ruined the movie in a way for me. As in ruined, took it from 9.5ish to an 8-8.5ish haha

Overall, I really enjoyed the film. This is a Watchmen type deal with me. I bet the DC(if released) will be the better film and I won't even acknowledge the theatrical version. That said, I think the theatrical is about an 8.5. That extra 30 minutes could have given it a 9 or 9.5!

 

[He-Man]

8/10. I enjoyed it. There was a point in the middle that got kind of dry but other than that it was a fun movie.

 

[danoyse]

What crowd? Who sits and watches the credits? I had to talk my friends into waiting and it was just us and a few other dudes left in the theatre waiting for the ****ing hammer.

Whose idea was it to put scenes after the credits as if the audience would know, or even care to wait? I am pretty sure that 80% of the audience was seeing Fury for the first time in IM2.

When I saw IM, the theater manager actually came in before the movie started and told everyone to stick around for the scene after the credits. So most of the audience stayed, even though it appeared most of them had no idea who Fury was.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

IMO, this movie was amazing! Truly a fantastic and ejoyable movie. Rourke was amazing as Whiplash, BLack WIdow kicked butt, War Machine was so badass as well. RObert did an awesome job as Iron Man once again.

Spoiler

PErsonally, I thought Scarlett was brilliant as Black Widow. She really broguht that character to life, even tohugh she didn't have a russian accent. Also, War Machine really brought a smile to my face and I look foward to seeing him in Avengers. Speaknig of the Avengers, all the hints at the Avengers kicked butt including Caps SHield, and of course, Thor's hammer. Also, it was great seeing nick Fury again.

Overall, an awesome film. Great job, Jon Faverue! You brought the character to life greatly once again.

9.5/10!

 

[Immortalfire]

Quite a crowd stuck around through the credits at my show

 

[danoyse]

Also anyone saying Cheadle was better than Howard is out their damn minds.

No, anyone who is saying that is entitled to their opinion, and you are not going to start flaming everyone who disagrees with you.

We're not going to spend all day warning you to knock it off. Either quit the attitude or your time here will be short.

 

[BlackLantern]

I liked Cheadle, part of that is I don't like Terrance Howard much anyway and I didn't like him in the first film

Cheadle was a bit more of a rigid military guy and how I felt Rhodey should be

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

Quite a crowd stuck around through the credits at my show

There wasn't that many people at my theater, but most stuck around/ One guy laughed out "awesomenss" at the end. It was just incredible.

 

[roach]

my whole thearter stayed to see the scene....and cheered when the saw the hammer...i could hear the whispering that they thought it was going to have something to do with Cap

 

[Spider-Fan]

Half my theater stuck around for the after the credit scene. Usually, if they see people staying, many will realize there is still a scene.

 

[Nathan]

There were quite some people in my theater and some guys behind me even discussed what would be shown in IM2's after credits. People were waiting and looking forward to it.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I liked Cheadle, part of that is I don't like Terrance Howard much anyway and I didn't like him in the first film

Cheadle was a bit more of a rigid military guy and how I felt Rhodey should be

Totally agree. He just felt stronger to me than Howard did. Howard felt like a bit of a push over. I know his voice is not his fault, but his voice makes him sound too meek to be someone like Rhodey. Cheadle was much stronger in his portrayel, and had great chemistry with RDJ.

 

[roach]

Where did I say they weren't entitled to it?


Okay, Lone Ranger.

hey those guys with red names are the mods..I'd listen to them if I were you..unless you want to be banned