Movie review: Iron Man 2

I never saw the first Iron Man movie, so I walked into this one not knowing much about Iron Man except that he walks around in a robotic suit. Of course, I was able to get an idea of his personality from the Marvel/DC videos on YouTube: he's a millionaire playboy, possibly an alcoholic, and he may or may not have herpes.



As it turned out, that description was surprisingly accurate. Iron Man's an interesting character. Unlike Spider-Man or Superman or Batman, Iron Man wants everyone to know who he "really" is, and he is unapologetic for any of his actions. He does a pretty good job of convincing people that he really doesn't care about anything. As the movie opens, we find out that the core of his suit which is keeping him alive is also poisoning him. At the same time, he needs to defeat a Russain mobster with a grudge (and a super-suit!). Oh, and keep his company running.

It was an enjoyable movie. The acting was great, and the special effects were superb. I love all of Tony Stark's techno-gadgets--aside from his Iron Man suit, he has the coolest computer system EVER. The 3-D holograms that he can resize with his hands? Sweet. I wish technology like that existed in real life...and who knows? It very well may someday. The scenes between the Russain and Stark's rival Justin Hammer were pretty funny. I loved how Hammer was under the illusion that he was still the one in charge.

The movie was good, but it wasn't fantastic. It seemed like it was just a lot of stuff getting destroyed, with some semblance of a plot to tie it all together. And working the Avengers in. They've been hinting at an Avengers movie since 2008, and the movie isn't coming until 2012. This will probably be the first movie that has been hyped for 4 years before it's released. We'll have to see if that type of marketing is a good idea or a really stupid one. My other problem with the movie was that it was really loud, which ties in with all of the destruction. Overall, I'd say it's a good popcorn movie: entertaining, enjoyable, but without a lot of substance.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars.

And now, to kick off Video Thursday, please enjoy this Iron Man video from ItsJustSomeRandomGuy!