Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 came out a couple months ago, and this week, it finally came to the $1 theatre.  We went the first day it became available.  :-)




Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language
Cast: Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes, Iron Man), Don Cheadle (Oceans movies, Reign Over Me), Scarlette Johanasson (The Illusionist), Gwenyth Paltrow (Emma), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler, Sin City), Samuel L. Jackson (Inglorious Basterds), and a billion other people.

The Plot:  I ask, "How would you describe the plot?"  Justin says: "Wandering."  Tony Stark is famous for being Iron Man and the government wants him to hand over the technology.  He doesn't want to.  In the meantime, his arc reactor (which is keeping him alive) is also slowly poisoning him, so he has to find a cure.  Also, someone who's father was angry at Tony's father decides to kill him (Tony).  There are a ton of other plot points, too, and in that way, it's more like a TV show.  The ending is essentially just an intermission until the next movie comes out.


What's Good:  Unlike Pirates of the Caribbean 2, this movie leaves the story intact.  Iron Man 1 had the "ooh, look how cool!" factor going, which is obviously gone this time around, but somehow that never really occurred to be while watching it.  The villain (Mickey Rourke) is new, but not super scary - just a plot device, really.  All the acting was decent, and Robert Downey Jr. is always fun to watch.  Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer) is also pretty fun, though I've never seen him in anything else.

What Isn't:  Scarlette Johannason's fight scenes.  They could have been way worse (like in Buffy), but she stopped and posed each time she hit someone.  It was funny but probably wasn't supposed to be.  Aside from that, everything ranged from decent to good.

The Result:  I mean, it's a comic book movie, so it's not going to be overly deep.  Not as good as either Batman Begins or The Dark Knight, but definitely a fun watch.  It's probably suitable for children 8 and up, depending on your child's maturity level.