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A surprise viewing of Iron Man 2 today has me rolling around and making ridiculous noises that sound like squee. The only thing that could possible make me love Iron Man 2 better if it were actually Iron Man 3.
What I loved
1. Ivan Vanko is awesome (don't let anyone tell you different)
The show starts with a recap of the ending of Iron Man 1, as viewed by a dying old man in Russia/Siberia. Who is the father of the key villain of Iron Man 2, donchaknow.
And then we get Ivan Vanko working on his Whiplash suit while Tony Stark brings in world peace! Having worked on an Iron Man vid for 3W4DW, I was really amused by how Ivan's origin/working on the arc reactor echoed Tony's origin/working on the arc reactor. Both were working in dark dingy places, both went old school (I have a sudden love for men hammering away at hot metal) in their construction and both looked like they just created the Mona Lisa after they were done with their tiny arc reactors. =D
The scene in the prison cell was the best. Tony comes in and immediately starts talking to Ivan on his level - he talks to him about how impressed he was by Ivan's arc reactor, and offers honest critique about how Ivan could have made it better, if he'd had the time. Even though it was a pity that Ivan had to respond with how his dad had been screwed over by Tony's dad, it was totally the right conversation for these two characters to have based on their characterisation in the movie. Still, I totally want a Whiplash - Iron Man team up in a situation where the two can ignore their daddy issues.
This made Hammer's handling of Ivan even more disgusting. Hammer's the head of Hammer Industries (I think), Stark Industries' direct competitor. He does break Ivan out of prison, but only so he can put him to work on the Hammer version of Iron Man suits because he "saved" Ivan's life. As a result, Ivan pretends that he only speaks Russian, and lets out only the odd garbled sentence or two of English. Only Tony Stark is his peer, and both he and Tony know this.
2. Tony being all too human
Despite all his world saving, Tony Stark opens his Expo with SHOWGIRLS. Scantily clad showgirls with model arc reactors on their bikini tops, and glowing circles in the middle of their gloves. And every time he opens his mouth in public, all that comes out is "CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF HOW AWESOME I AM".
Which he probably needs to do, because guys, Tony Stark is dying. AND NO ONE CAN KNOW. Not even Pepper. Which results in a lot of sad puppy faces from Tony when he tries to do Things That Would Make Me Happy Before I Die and ends up having them blow up in his face. Like making Pepper CEO of Stark Industries, only to have her become too busy for him. Like getting a hot new personal assistant, only to realise that he prefers Pepper after all. (That particular scene made me want to sing I'VE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO HER FACE on Tony's behalf, except without the marrying someone else bits.) Or letting Rhodney have the suit only for it to be used by Ebil Villains against Tony himself. Only Nick Fury and Black Widow care about Tony Stark now.
3. Girls kick ass
Talking about Black Widow, it reminds me - for all of Tony's objectifying, and boy does he objectify, the girls in his show still repeatedly kick ass. Including Tony's sometimes, such as when a pretty red haired Irish girl hands him his subpoena. While the kick ass is sometimes literal (think Black Widow knocking out the security at Hammer Industries in the time it takes for Happy to overpower the doorguard) I was happy that Pepper continued to kick ass by being awesome by taking charge of the situation and getting what she wants without punching anyone. =D
4. Tony and Pepper are so married
Guys, they are so married in this movie that even other characters comment on it! Even TONY jokes about it: a wry comment to the effect of "Pepper got the two kids in the divorce."
5. Technology is dazzling
Whether it's the fight scenes or Tony Stark creating a new element (and it's not the Fifth Element *bricked*) the technology is dazzling in this show. And Tony gets to play more with his 3D interactive blueprint. I WANT A COMPUTER LIKE THAT PLEASE.
Also I learned that some of the scenes were made in Singapore. Excuse me for being biased about physical proximity to AWESOME.
Why I would love the above more if this were Iron Man 3 instead
While I love the short-handing in Iron Man 2, I did think the verse could benefit from expansion. Tony Stark didn't get to do much heroic stuff in Iron Man 1 since he was mostly fixing his dad's and his own mistakes. Having an Iron Man 2 that focused on that prior to the movie might have helped.
Which reminds me - Stark Expo. I find it fascinating that Tony dug up an old initiative by his father and revived it all the way in true Stark style - from playing his father's clip right down to replicating the model of the Expo grounds with real life sized versions. We knew Stark was bothered by his father's legacy, but if he's THIS bothered I thought we should know why.
I can guess - my guess is that finding out he was dying from radiation poisoning made him a little obsessed with tying up lost ends. But how did he find out? Did he faint on a mission? Did he end up taking more sick days than he should've? (And freaked out Pepper with the rescheduling nightmare it caused.) Did he create the arc reactor guessing it would already have that side effect?
However he found out, Tony Stark is out to make changes. In one scene, we find a lack of dancing stewardesses in his plane (nooooooo D= ). Instead he tries to make an omelette for Pepper (which he spends over three hours trying to make and still has to serve up a half-burnt one). But Pepper's too busy being angry at Tony to appreciate the gesture, because of all the shit he's dumped on her in order to be Iron Man/indulge in his whims before he dies.
Which is the real pity of the show. Tony and Pepper are so married in Iron Man 2, yes, but it's the type of acrimonous marriage we see at say, the beginning of Mr and Mrs Smith. Their "marriage" is failing under the weight of secrets, and they're starting to lead their own lives even when they're in the same room. Considering that they're still will-they-won't-they at the end of the last movie, that's quite a leap of faith to make.
If the above questions bugged you too during the movie, you're not the only one who has questions. Pepper and Rhodney, for all that they are crucial to the movie, are kept pretty much in the dark through the whole show. While it's crucial to the plot, I did think that it stopped them from fulfilling their role as the key people in Tony's life.
tl;dr version
Before knocking down all their pillars from the first movie in this one, the creators really should have considered another version of the movie that cemented those pillars further before going with the final version of Iron Man 2.
Because of Iron Man 2, I have a couple of more posts in my head: The New Heroine and her influence on the New Hero, and some fuck yeah she's awesome posts for Pepper Potts (of course!) and Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson). Sorry Lily and Severus, you guys have to wait.
What I loved
1. Ivan Vanko is awesome (don't let anyone tell you different)
The show starts with a recap of the ending of Iron Man 1, as viewed by a dying old man in Russia/Siberia. Who is the father of the key villain of Iron Man 2, donchaknow.
And then we get Ivan Vanko working on his Whiplash suit while Tony Stark brings in world peace! Having worked on an Iron Man vid for 3W4DW, I was really amused by how Ivan's origin/working on the arc reactor echoed Tony's origin/working on the arc reactor. Both were working in dark dingy places, both went old school (I have a sudden love for men hammering away at hot metal) in their construction and both looked like they just created the Mona Lisa after they were done with their tiny arc reactors. =D
The scene in the prison cell was the best. Tony comes in and immediately starts talking to Ivan on his level - he talks to him about how impressed he was by Ivan's arc reactor, and offers honest critique about how Ivan could have made it better, if he'd had the time. Even though it was a pity that Ivan had to respond with how his dad had been screwed over by Tony's dad, it was totally the right conversation for these two characters to have based on their characterisation in the movie. Still, I totally want a Whiplash - Iron Man team up in a situation where the two can ignore their daddy issues.
This made Hammer's handling of Ivan even more disgusting. Hammer's the head of Hammer Industries (I think), Stark Industries' direct competitor. He does break Ivan out of prison, but only so he can put him to work on the Hammer version of Iron Man suits because he "saved" Ivan's life. As a result, Ivan pretends that he only speaks Russian, and lets out only the odd garbled sentence or two of English. Only Tony Stark is his peer, and both he and Tony know this.
2. Tony being all too human
Despite all his world saving, Tony Stark opens his Expo with SHOWGIRLS. Scantily clad showgirls with model arc reactors on their bikini tops, and glowing circles in the middle of their gloves. And every time he opens his mouth in public, all that comes out is "CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF HOW AWESOME I AM".
Which he probably needs to do, because guys, Tony Stark is dying. AND NO ONE CAN KNOW. Not even Pepper. Which results in a lot of sad puppy faces from Tony when he tries to do Things That Would Make Me Happy Before I Die and ends up having them blow up in his face. Like making Pepper CEO of Stark Industries, only to have her become too busy for him. Like getting a hot new personal assistant, only to realise that he prefers Pepper after all. (That particular scene made me want to sing I'VE GROWN ACCUSTOMED TO HER FACE on Tony's behalf, except without the marrying someone else bits.) Or letting Rhodney have the suit only for it to be used by Ebil Villains against Tony himself. Only Nick Fury and Black Widow care about Tony Stark now.
3. Girls kick ass
Talking about Black Widow, it reminds me - for all of Tony's objectifying, and boy does he objectify, the girls in his show still repeatedly kick ass. Including Tony's sometimes, such as when a pretty red haired Irish girl hands him his subpoena. While the kick ass is sometimes literal (think Black Widow knocking out the security at Hammer Industries in the time it takes for Happy to overpower the doorguard) I was happy that Pepper continued to kick ass by being awesome by taking charge of the situation and getting what she wants without punching anyone. =D
4. Tony and Pepper are so married
Guys, they are so married in this movie that even other characters comment on it! Even TONY jokes about it: a wry comment to the effect of "Pepper got the two kids in the divorce."
5. Technology is dazzling
Whether it's the fight scenes or Tony Stark creating a new element (and it's not the Fifth Element *bricked*) the technology is dazzling in this show. And Tony gets to play more with his 3D interactive blueprint. I WANT A COMPUTER LIKE THAT PLEASE.
Also I learned that some of the scenes were made in Singapore. Excuse me for being biased about physical proximity to AWESOME.
Why I would love the above more if this were Iron Man 3 instead
While I love the short-handing in Iron Man 2, I did think the verse could benefit from expansion. Tony Stark didn't get to do much heroic stuff in Iron Man 1 since he was mostly fixing his dad's and his own mistakes. Having an Iron Man 2 that focused on that prior to the movie might have helped.
Which reminds me - Stark Expo. I find it fascinating that Tony dug up an old initiative by his father and revived it all the way in true Stark style - from playing his father's clip right down to replicating the model of the Expo grounds with real life sized versions. We knew Stark was bothered by his father's legacy, but if he's THIS bothered I thought we should know why.
I can guess - my guess is that finding out he was dying from radiation poisoning made him a little obsessed with tying up lost ends. But how did he find out? Did he faint on a mission? Did he end up taking more sick days than he should've? (And freaked out Pepper with the rescheduling nightmare it caused.) Did he create the arc reactor guessing it would already have that side effect?
However he found out, Tony Stark is out to make changes. In one scene, we find a lack of dancing stewardesses in his plane (nooooooo D= ). Instead he tries to make an omelette for Pepper (which he spends over three hours trying to make and still has to serve up a half-burnt one). But Pepper's too busy being angry at Tony to appreciate the gesture, because of all the shit he's dumped on her in order to be Iron Man/indulge in his whims before he dies.
Which is the real pity of the show. Tony and Pepper are so married in Iron Man 2, yes, but it's the type of acrimonous marriage we see at say, the beginning of Mr and Mrs Smith. Their "marriage" is failing under the weight of secrets, and they're starting to lead their own lives even when they're in the same room. Considering that they're still will-they-won't-they at the end of the last movie, that's quite a leap of faith to make.
If the above questions bugged you too during the movie, you're not the only one who has questions. Pepper and Rhodney, for all that they are crucial to the movie, are kept pretty much in the dark through the whole show. While it's crucial to the plot, I did think that it stopped them from fulfilling their role as the key people in Tony's life.
tl;dr version
Before knocking down all their pillars from the first movie in this one, the creators really should have considered another version of the movie that cemented those pillars further before going with the final version of Iron Man 2.
Because of Iron Man 2, I have a couple of more posts in my head: The New Heroine and her influence on the New Hero, and some fuck yeah she's awesome posts for Pepper Potts (of course!) and Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson). Sorry Lily and Severus, you guys have to wait.
