Iron Man 2 (2010)

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Director: Jon Favreau

Writers: Justin Theroux, from the comics by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby

Stars: Robert Downey, Jr., Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson


Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), AKA Iron Man, is targeted by Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), a Russian physicist with a hunger for vengeance and a talent for designing powerful energy whips, and Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), a venal munitions manufacturer who covets Stark's fame and success.
 

Director Jon Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux incorporated a large number of elements from the Marvel Universe (Iron Man, Whiplash, Nick Fury and SHIELD, the Black Widow, Justin Hammer, War Machine) but made it all pull together in a coherent narrative. 


The motif of the basically good but also weak man within the invulnerable suit of armor is used to good effect, but even the weightier aspects of the film are handled with a light touch that keeps it hugely entertaining.
 

Also, character is not sacrificed for the sake of spectacle.
 


There may not be as much action as some might wish, but when it comes it really lets loose and the context gives it real stakes.










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