Written by Justin Theroux, Stan Lee, and Don Heck
Directed by Jon Favreau

The second Iron Man film builds on the first one nicely. We’ve seen what Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is about. He’s a narcissist who also craves the approval of the masses, which leads to conflict in his personality. In Iron Man 2, circumstances push him away from isolation. He’s used to having people work for him and be loyal to him for a paycheck. The idea of someone being a friend who is loyal to him because they care about him is somewhat alien to him. Even with people like Happy (Jon Favreau) and Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) in his orbit, he doesn’t really understand how to act unless he’s bossing someone around.

Iron Man 2 opens with the audio from the press conference at the end of Iron Man, as Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) watches from Russia. In grief over losing his last relative, Vanko has fixated on Tony Stark and is attempting to build his own weapon based on Stark Technology.

Six months later, Tony is riding high as Iron Man. He’s enjoying the accolades as well as promoting himself in every way possible. His latest Stark Expo is a huge hit. The government uses this public appearance as an opportunity to serve him with a Congressional Subpoena. The Senate Armed Services Committee sees the Iron Man suit as a weapon and wants him to turn it over to the government.

Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), who was a rival of Stark’s when she was producing weapons, appears at the hearing as an expert who states that the suit is a weapon. Rhodey (now Don Cheadle) also appears. Stark counters with videos showing that other countries are nowhere close to developing a similar technology, which is one of the arguments they use to try to get their hands on the suit.

When Tony returns home, we learn that the device that is keeping him alive is also killing him. He has been working with his AI creation, Jarvis, to find a solution, but they have so far been unable. Pepper confronts him about his donating the art collection she curated to the Boy Scouts of America. She attempts to get him to pay attention to various problems at Stark Industries. Instead, he names her as CEO and Chairman of the company.

Natalie Rushman, a.k.a. Natasha Romanov, a.k.a. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), comes on board as Tony’s assistant. Happy attempts to spar with her, and she knocks him down. Tony is smitten, but Pepper warns him off. Still, he promotes her to his personal assistant. None of them know that Tony’s newest strange behavior is due to his belief that he’s going to die soon anyway. He takes over as driver for the Stark Industries car at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Vanko appears at the Grand Prix and wreaks havoc. He’s after Tony with a whip-like weapon powered from an ARC reactor. Happy and Pepper try to save him, but end up in trouble themselves. Tony dons the suit, and Vanko does a pretty good job of tearing him up regardless. Still, Tony wins the day. Tony confronts Vanko and learns that Vanko’s father developed the technology he’s using.

Pepper takes her new job seriously. Tony tries to entice her to spend time with him in Europe. He refuses to tell her what’s really going on with him, but she knows him well enough to know that something is off. Rhodey visits him and warns Tony that the government is going to come and take the suits. He sees signs that something is wrong with Tony as well.

Justin Hammer arranges for Vanko to “escape.” He wants the technology. He brings Vanko to his development lab and presents him with a number of suits his company has been working on.

“Natalie” helps Tony prepare for his birthday party. Tony gets drunk in the Iron Man suit. Pepper tries to get him to slow down, but Tony refuses. Rhodey takes one of the suits from Tony’s lab. The two duke it out, and Rhodey does a good job of kicking Tony around while they destroy Tony’s beachfront house. Rhodey delivers the suit to Edwards Air Force Base.

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) meets with Tony and introduces Natasha to him. They know he is not well, which is why Fury had Natasha shadow him. Fury tells Tony that the Arc Reactor technology was a stepping stone to something else. His father, Howard Stark, worked with SHIELD and was very different from what Tony remembers. Fury leaves Natasha and Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) behind to babysit Tony.

Tony tries to make it up to Pepper, but fails miserably. However, he later learns that Vanko is alive, and knows that something very bad is going to happen.

The main focus of Iron Man 2 is demonstrating to Tony that he can’t do it alone. He’s congratulating himself in the beginning for inducing world peace, but the events show that there will always be bad guys who will come along to challenge it. In this case, it’s the very technology that he’s invented that will come back to haunt him. Add in the fact that at the beginning of the film he knows that he is dying, and it creates a need to plan for a future he won’t be a part of. Tony is not very good at that, though. He won’t open up to anyone close to him like Rhodey, Pepper, or Happy about what’s going on. It’s only when Fury arrives and pushes him about his father that Tony starts to listen.

That’s not to say that Tony will change drastically. He’s still totally full of himself, but he’s starting to be more open to the idea of working with others. This is important for the Avengers Initiative, which is what Fury is trying to sell him on. Still, it’s apparent that Natasha isn’t all that impressed with Tony. He might be a genius with revolutionary technology, but it’s still all about Tony. He’s gradually evolving to the point that he takes into account that maybe everyone else doesn’t want what Tony wants and that it’s okay. That’s a struggle, though, as he’s showing more feelings for Pepper but doesn’t know how to be any different than the self-absorbed person that he is, and she needs more.

I liked how Natasha was dropped into the MCU here. Having watched the whole series already, it’s a great example of how to introduce a character without giving her a movie (that will be later). Scarlett Johansson treads the line with the perfect amount of femininity and strength. She can kick just about anyone’s butt around, but she’s cautious about who knows her capabilities. In general, she keeps them hidden until necessary. The fact that Fury tasked her to keep an eye on Stark shows how much he believes in her and can count on her assessment.

Justin Hammer makes a typical mistake in these types of films: he thinks he can control Vanko and the technology. Vanko is way ahead of him and knows that the promise of a weapon with the same technology as Stark’s Iron Man suit will allow him to create without much oversight. He doesn’t show how smart he is, leading Hammer to underestimate him as well. As much as it’s enjoyable to watch Tony taken down a notch, at least he has the intelligence and creativity to back what he says. Hammer has neither and still thinks he’s all that.

Don Cheadle takes over as Rhodey, and does a great job. There were reported salary disputes between the studio and Terrence Howard. I think Cheadle brings a bit more to the role as Rhodey comes off more affable overall, even when he takes Tony to task over his actions. The chemistry between Cheadle and Downey seems better to me. Downey and Paltrow have great chemistry too, but this has all been a slow burn to get their relationship moving forward. Pepper is dismissive of Tony in many ways, but she knows there is more beneath the surface, if Tony will only allow himself to let people in.

There are some great moments in this film that tie into the overall story of the Avengers. I don’t think I picked up on it until this viewing that in the middle of everything, Agent Coulson is abruptly reassigned to New Mexico, foreshadowing the upcoming encounter with Thor. This is also the post-credit scene we’re given. If you don’t know already that Thor is coming, you will now. Chronologically, though, there’s one more film before we get to Thor, but it’s a great way to whet the appetite for what’s next.

The film’s Stan Lee moment comes during the Stark Expo as Lee is mistaken for Larry King.

Coulson being reassigned to New Mexico foreshadows the encounter with Thor

Iron Man 2 is a sequel that holds its own against the first film quite well. The characters develop more, and new ones are added who will be pivotal in the future. The villain is a great one. Mickey Rourke does a great job here, making me forget that it’s him as Vanko. It’s a villain I wish could have been revisited but won’t be. Despite never being a comic book fan, these movies hooked me with their originality and great storytelling. Iron Man 2 fits both of those categories.

Blu-ray Extras:

• Ultimate Iron Man: The Making of Iron Man 2 – A Return to Action
• Ultimate Iron Man: The Making of Iron Man 2 – Building a Legacy
• Ultimate Iron Man: The Making of Iron Man 2 – Expanding the Universe
• Ultimate Iron Man: The Making of Iron Man 2 – Rebuilding the Suit
• Trailer
• Alternate Opening
• Deleted Scenes