What2Expect: Iron Man 2 (2010)
With less than two weeks until this blockbuster makes its debut, I’m super stoked. I’ve been ready to see what returning Director Jon Favreau and Writer Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunder) have to offer since the moment I stepped out of the theater on May 1, 2008. It has been 2 years in the making and, if the trailers are any indication, the concerns of some fans about there not being enough action in the first movie have been addressed and conquered. I was pleased with the amount of action in Iron Man, because to me action is only a vehicle of the story, and Iron Man was full of dialogue and a great story. I have no reason to believe that they would throw that very lucrative formula out the window just to satisfy the cravings of a few teenagers who only want to see a movie full of pointless CGI fight scenes. Before I go much further, let’s watch one of the trailers together. If you want to see more, go to TrailerAddict.com for all sorts of interviews, viral videos, tv spots, and teasers.
So even though Marvel has only released a very basic plot summary, that doesn’t keep fanboys like me from postulating based on what I have been given. First of all, the trailer presents several new faces, so to avoid any confusion, let’s break the characters down.
Returning 
Characters
Robert Downey Jr. – Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man), billionaire, playboy, genius.
Gwyneth Paltrow – Pepper Potts, Tony’s personal assistant and love interest. She will be promoted to Stark Industries C.E.O. in this film.
Jon Favreau – Happy Hogan, the director reprises his role as Tony’s bodyguard, friend and chauffeur.
Samuel L. Jackson – Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and recruiter for the Avengers. While his appearance in Iron Man was brief, a 30-second post-credits scene, he should get more screen time this time around. Also he is worth noting because Samuel L. Jackson is also signed onto to reprise the role in eight more Marvel movies, including Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers.
Don Cheadle – If you are thinking that the actor playing James “Rhodey” Rhodes looks different you would be right. Terrence Howard lost the role over a combination of salary issues and concerns about on-set behavior. Believe it or not, Terrence Howard was actually the highest paid-Actor in Iron Man, that’s right, more than Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, or Robert Downey Jr. I’m very glad that the people in charge of casting saw the need to have a “real” actor in the role (instead of a rapper turned actor like Common, Will.i.am, or LL Cool J), so they offered it to Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Traitor) who graciously accepted. In Iron Man 2 Rhodey gets the chance to fight alongside his friend as War Machine.
New Characters
Justin Hammer – Played by Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon, The Green Mile), Hammer and his company are a competitor of Stark industries. I think he will be enlisted by the U.S. Government to help them create Iron Man type suits so that National Security doesn’t become privatized. 
Greed will get in his way as he sees a chance to get rid of his competitor and blame it on a government accident.
Natalie Rushman (Black Widow) – Played by Scarlett Johannson (The Other Boleyn Girl). This character could go all over the place. In the comics she is Natasha Romanoff and she goes from trying to kill Iron Man to saving his life to fighting as a hero. You can see from some of the trailers that she is trying to get a position within Stark Industries against the advice of Pepper. I believe that she will and it will come out that she is really she is one of the world’s greatest spies and master of disguise and wants to steal Stark technology. But she will have a change of heart and will later work with the Avengers. I could be way off, but that’s my guess.
Ivan Vanko (Whiplash) – Played by Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler). Whiplash seems to be a composite of at least two Marvel villains (Backlash and the Crimson Dynamo). Ivan holds an old family grudge against Tony and believes that he stole the idea for the Arc reactor from his father, Anton. Whiplash uses electrified bullwhips to wreak havoc. I believe that Vanko will come to see the error in his ways and will try to redeem himself by sacrificing himself to save Iron Man. I’ve got no hard evidence, just a gut feeling. 
Either way, I think Mickey Rourke will do an excellent job.
Prediction
With Favreau still at the helm, a cast that is eclectic and extremely talented, and a slew of promotional material that consistently makes me laugh and giggle like a school-girl with anticipation, I believe it will be hard for this one not to be a good movie and make boatloads of money at the box office. My only real worry is that all these players might not get enough development and we could end up with another Spider-Man 3 or X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Part of me hates that this is the first movie of the summer, because, with the exception of a few movies, it will all be downhill from here. I actually don’t know what I’m still doing typing right now, writing this has gotten me so excited I need to go to Fandango to check out showtimes. I give Iron Man 2 a predicted score of 92, and I’ll see you in line.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=fc11bcb0-1cd6-4ce6-9e67-bb32358332f8)
