The measure of a sequel, particularly a superhero sequel, isn’t (necessarily) about whether it surpasses the original but whether it forwards the storyline of the character and entertains at the same time. Iron Man 2 succeeds at both. The first film in a superhero series is always a handcuffed by having to tell the character’s origin. Iron Man featured one of the most enjoyable origins of any superhero film. So good, in fact, that it nearly overshadowed the rest of the film.
Iron Man 2 opens six months after the first film. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) has revealed to the world that he is Iron Man and has continued his father Howard’s legacy of holding a Stark Expo. The U.S. Government led by obnoxious Senator Stern (Gary Shandling) demands that Stark turn his technology over to them. Stark refuses and with his typical brashness and with a few choice smartass comments to Justin Hammer, a rival arms manufacturer. Ivan Vanko (Mickey Roarke), the son of Anton Vanko, Howard Stark’s former partner, builds his own weapon based on the arc reactor technology. He creates an exo-skelton featuring a pair of electrified whips and attacks Stark during a race in Monaco. Later he will partner with Hammer to build an army of remote-controlled armored drones to attack the Expo.
If Director Jon Favreau is guilty of anything it is falling into the usual trap of trying to throw in too many new elements in his sequel. In short order you get Justin Hammer, Whiplash, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), War Machine (Don Cheadle), not to mention hints of the Avengers, Captain America, and Thor. Despite the breakneck pace, Iron Man 2 isn’t overindulgent. The Nick Fury/S.H.I.E.L.D scenes feel a little shoe-horned into the story for purposes of forwarding the overall Marvel Universe but this is a comic book come to life.
In a nod to one of the comic’s most well known storylines, “Demon in a Bottle” Stark, dying from blood poisoning caused by the Palladium power core that keeps him alive, throws a drunken party at his home. Instead of dealing with the subject matter with any serious emotion its treated more like a rowdy bachelor party by Favreau.
Iron Man 2 succeeds largely due to the sparkling cast. Rarely has an actor seemed better suited to a role as Downey is suited to Tony Stark/Iron Man. The exchanges between Stark and Senator Stern, Stark and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Stark and Fury, Stark and, well, basically everyone are priceless. It’s refreshing to see such a liberal dose of humor in a superhero film.
While it might not have the same WOW factor of the original, Iron Man 2 succeeds in several key areas including an outstanding cast, progressing the story on numerous levels, brisk and witty dialogue, and being just plain fun.
The three disc Blu-Ray edition is loaded with three hours of bonus features not including the audio commentary by Jon Favreau.
Disc 1 features the Audio Commentary along with the following:
Disc 2
Disc 3
DVD and digital copy of film
I disagree that the drunken party was handled like a "rowdy bachelor party." When I saw him drunk in the suit, I frowned. WHen he started shooting things, I actually felt a sense of dread. That was one scary situation. The look between Rhodes & Pepper really conveyed the gravity of the moment. Obviously you can't make an entire movie about his drinking problem, but I thought Favreau demonstrated the destructive power of drinking well.
REally thought they would have had the Thor preview on the blu-ray combo. I wnated to see it on my big screen instead of the pc.
Seeing it again, I think I agree with how Favreau handled the party. I am pretty sure I read that he had said that he wasn't going to include the Demon in a Bottle storyline into the movie. I think the party went down the exact way that movie Stark would have done it. I do wish there would have been more deleted scenes added in. Love the Hall of Armor inside the case, just wish Target would have put the security devise somewhere else. And I agree aegrant, it would have been nice to have the Thor preview added in.
If you want to see the Thor preview on your big screen, just hook your PC up to it. I use mine as my monitor.
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I've had a chance to go through the extras at this point, and I'm kind of annoyed. There are several points during Favrau's commentary where he mentions a deleted scene we can watch in the Deleted Scenes section of the disc. The problem however is that those scenes are not there, the most prominent of which is the scene many of us were most looking forward too- Olivia Munn in Tony's bedroom! We get a tiny glimpse of this scene during the Making Of documentary, but that's all. I'm hoping the problem will be corrected with a BD-Live feature.