Iron Man 2 review
Iron Man 2 is known as a superhero film but really at its core it's a survival movie. Which is surprising, given that it's a sequel to arguably one of the best superhero movies of all time.
You see, Iron Man 2 largely focuses on Tony Stark's attempts to save his life after he finds out the arc reactor in his body is slowly killing him. Not only does it succeed in its brave and bold attempt at focusing on the human element of the superhero genre but it does so in trademark Stark Style with many of the quips and eccentricities we have come to expect from Robert Downey Jnr as Stark.
Of course, you still get the typical superhero movie elements. It's still good VS evil. It's still a super-powered good guy taking on a super-villain. It still ends in a climatic battle between the opposing forces and it still ends with the hero saving the girl. But it's the human elements that allow Iron Man 2 to succeed.
Whiplash makes for a great alter-ego for Tony Stark/Iron Man too. He's basically like the dark reflection of Tony; the path that Mr Stark could have taken if he hadn't chosen to use his weapons technology for good intentions as opposed to evil ones. Essentially, Whiplash is like a 'evil' Tony Stark only without the wealth or money. He's certainly not a forgettable villain as some would lead you to believe but one that deserves to return to the MCU sooner rather than later.
Oh, and you can't do a review of Iron Man 2 without mentioning Scarlett Johannsen as Black Widow. She is simply awesome and more than deserves her own movie. May I suggest a buddy cop movie teaming up Black Widow with Agent May from Agents of SHIELD?
As for the rest of the supporting cast, Clark Gregg is brilliant as Coulson (it's easy to see why Marvel decided to give him his own TV spinoff), Samuel L Jackson is badass as usual as Nick Fury and Gwyneth Paltrow is just as good as she was in the first Iron Man as Pepper Potts.
My only criticism is that Whiplash's hatred for the Stark family could have been explored more and there's not quite enough scenes of Iron Man VS Whiplash. But overall, Iron Man 2 is a fun and enjoyable superhero survival movie.