Having revealed his identity at the end of Iron Man, the narcissist billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jnr.) finds himself at the centre of the world’s attention – but not all is welcome.
Aggrieved by the treatment of his father by Stark Senior, brilliant but crazed Russian physicist Ivan Venko (Mickey Rourke) looks for revenge. But it’s all bad timing as Stark Jnr. is fending off the American military demanding access to his suits with annoying arms manufacturer Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) aggressively waiting in the wings. If that’s not enough, there’s a more pressing point of his own health and reaction to the very mechanism that is keeping him alive.
Iron Man 2 is all bombast and bluster (when is an MCU feature not?) as director Jon Favreau simply builds on the bombast and bluster of its prequel. But in it’s narrative, particularly through the introduction of Scarlett Johansson, we take a step closer to The Avengers.
Nominated for best visual affects Oscar in 2011.
Rating: 40%
Director: Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Chef)
Writer: Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunder, Rock of Ages)
Main cast: Robert Downey Jnr. (Sherlock, The Judge), Micky Rourke (The Wrestler, Sin City), Sam Rockwell (Moon, Seven Psychopaths)
An Opinion or Two 