What Do The Critics Say?

"I had a blast with IRON MAN 2. It is one hell of an exciting adventure, but it may not be the adventure you expect. You see, both Stark and Vanko have daddy issues. And family is an important part of the first sequel. And I appreciated that. The script by Justin Theroux may feel a bit too simple, but it is certainly rich in wit. "Iron Man 2" lets itself loose and in many ways it is more fun than the original." JimmyO JOBLO'S MOVIE EMPORIUM "The dialogue crackles, the special effects pop and the onscreen action never flags, climaxing with an astonishing multi-car pileup at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Iron Man meets his nemesis Vanko, aka Whiplash, for the first time. "Iron Man 2" is a lot of fun: it’s shiny, likeable and never boring." Tom Huddleston TIME OUT "This follow-up has a lot on its plate, with Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark now outed globally as Iron Man and an array of new villains coming out of the woodwork to compete with him. Director Jon Favreau and new screenwriter Justin Theroux ("Tropic Thunder") deftly manage to juggle all these interweaving parts without succumbing to the sophomore slump many comic book franchises suffer." Pete Hammond BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE "Like Tony Stark himself, Iron Man 2 is a sleek and cheeky number that almost certainly trumps the fun-factor of Jon Favreau's 2008's surprise hit. With a third film an inevitability, this entry in the franchise almost certainly matches and exceeds the wit of the first film. Supported by a terrific cast, surprisingly dense script and excellent effects work, this is another gold star for Favreau's Iron Man." Patrick Kolan IGN AU "This is not a movie in which there's only single threat to Tony Stark or to the world, but in which he faces almost constant threats, and in which he's never given a moment to relax. Jon Favreau has gotten even better at building his action sequences, and he stages a few showstoppers this time. One of the questions fans have had about the film is what role Natalie Rushman aka The Black Widow would play in the film. I think it's a very smart, simple use of the character, and I'll wager we see her show up in several other movies in the Marvel universe in the next few years." Drew McWeeny HITFIX

"There is a real political debate in Iron Man 2. What would you do with a wealthy citizen who had this suit? It’s a good thing Tony Stark is a good guy. The action scenes are brilliantly constructed, building up with all the elements in play. There are only three real set pieces, which I like in this movie because when the suits do come into action, they’re using them to solve real problems. The sequences are awesome but I’m actually more fascinated by what’s going to happen in the aftermath. That’s what good drama should be." Fred Topel CAN MAGAZINE "The eagerly anticipated follow up to one of the most successful, and, out of nowhere at the time of release, most hyped comic book movies ever made, Iron Man 2 is more of the same, and a happy development of the formula that worked so well the first time around. With the audience now familiar with each of the central roles, director Jon Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux were able to craft a film with much greater depth, and a much more rounded and interesting experience." Sam Bathe FAN THE FIRE "Stark's enemies include a Russian physicist with his own access to advanced technology and a long-simmering grudge against the Stark family; and Justin Hammer, an oily defense contractor desperate for his own super-suit.This armored adventure promises to be a money-making machine that clicks on all cylinders. The special effects, meanwhile, are more plentiful and polished." Brian Lowry VARIETY "Jon Favreau is a director who can genuinely handle action and special effects with real skill (as was, of course, originally proven in the brilliant, underappreciated Zathura). Iron Man 2 is clearly a movie that has weighty expectations on its shoulders. By generous compensation, you do get a fun two hours, thanks to an ambitious movie that feels top to bottom like it was made by people who seem to love films such as these as much as you and I." Simon Brew DEN OF GEEK

The Inside Story on Iron Man 2 With the worldwide success of "Iron Man" at the box office, director Favreau faced the inevitable challenge following up the beloved film with the second installment of the franchise. "When we were shooting the first film, we weren’t planning a sequel, but we were also aware that if things went well, there would be one; so we thought about what the big picture would be and what we were leading to in terms of story," Favreau observed. "The challenge in developing "Iron Man 2" was how to stay true to what audiences enjoyed about the first film while at the same time raising the bar in every aspect: an interesting but sometimes difficult line to walk. If it gets too complicated, the sequel becomes overwrought and loses its light touch. But if you don’t do anything more than you did the first time, it just feels like more of the same: so doing a sequel can be a mixed blessing." "The great thing about having Jon Favreau back at the helm is that we have a fantastic rapport because we’ve been together now for almost four years thinking and talking about the world of Iron Man," says Feige. "We’ve developed a shorthand now, so most of the time we know what the other is thinking. Jon did an amazing job on the first film and we really followed his lead in terms of tone, texture and humor. When you see Tony Stark and his interaction as Iron Man, it is not just your 'hand on the hip' super hero. It is somebody who has wit and cynicism on one side and extreme optimism on the other; the character really is what he is because of two people, Jon Favreau and Robert Downey." "One of the great things that came from the success of the first film was that we had established a tone that was distinctively fresh and cool, so in preparing for the sequel it became ‘how do we keep that tone going?. The tone is what really makes audiences feel like they’re watching an ‘Iron Man’ movie. It’s really fun, it’s edgy, but it’s not brooding, nor is it cartoony or overly political," notes co-producer Jeremy Latcham. "So one of our big goals in developing the story and characters was making sure everything was in line with the tone we established in the first film." "Once you establish the tone and characterizations and people love the character, it gives you a lot of freedom to jump into whatever stories you want to tell next," notes Feige. "Often times our favorite stories in the comics are ones that can’t be done as an origin story, because they happen two hundred or three hundred issues into the series. But with a sequel, you can really take the gloves off because you already know what worked really well in the first film and can up the ante in those aspects. Having that kind of opportunity is one of the great joys in filmmaking." For Favreau and the filmmakers, developing the story for "Iron Man 2" started long before the first page of the script was written. "The writing process on "Iron Man 2" was unique and began before there was a screenwriter brought on," Favreau explained. "That tends to be the case with these types of movies because what happens is that Robert Downey, Kevin Feige, Jeremy Latcham and others all sit around and start discussing things like what interests us; where should the characters go; where should the next leg of the journey start; what should Tony’s arc be, etc. So you begin to outline a basic story and break it down into scenes and set pieces. Then when you arrive at that point, the actual scriptwriting process can begin." For the sequel, the filmmakers selected Justin Theroux: an avowed life-long fan of the comic book super hero; to write the screenplay. Theroux and Ben Stiller recently co-write the screenplay to the comedy hit "Tropic Thunder", which earned Downey an Oscar® nomination. Theroux admits that what drew him to the project first and foremost was "the opportunity to work with Robert Downey Jr again. It also helped that I was such a big fan of the comics and actually owned an Iron Man doll that had a little spandex outfit and little RT in the center that you could manipulate. Iron Man is a super hero who you feel could actually exist someday. He’s not so far fetched; it seems possible that you could create an armored suit that could fly. That’s what drew me in at a very early age." One of the original Marvel Comics, 'Iron Man' has enjoyed a long and prosperous run dating back to the character’s first appearance in the Marvel comic Tales of Suspense in April 1963. Iron Man’s alter ego, Tony Stark, became an overnight film sensation on May 2nd, 2008 when the film "Iron Man" grossed $98.6 million in its opening weekend on its way to an eventual take of more than $US572 million worldwide. Fans and critics of all ages were enamored with the red and gold super hero. "What triggered me to create a character like 'Iron Man' was that I wanted to see something different from the usual super hero," executive producer Stan Lee explained. "The character of Tony Stark is so glamorous, so successful, so virile, yet he has a very vulnerable side to him. When we first started writing and publishing the "Iron Man" comic books, we had more fan mail from females than any other comic book we had ever created. In those days, I think the women who read the comic books felt the same way about Tony Stark as the women who went to see the film and loved Robert Downey Jr and the vulnerability that he brought to the character. People of all ages connect to the human side of this character." "We always want to stay true to the characters as written in the comics, but we also don’t want to be afraid to take risks occasionally with our characters," notes producer and President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige. The original film’s runaway worldwide box office and critical success even caught director Jon Favreau, and its outstanding cast off-guard. "I think the first sense that we had something special was when we went on the international press tour and both the feedback and film reviews were extremely positive," Favreau ("Made" & "Elf") recalls. "But it really didn’t hit us until we went around to movie theaters on opening weekend and watched how well audiences were reacting to the film." "The reason I decided to do the first movie was because I always wanted to work with Robert and I love Jon Favreau," says Oscar® winner Gwyneth Paltrow ("Shakespeare in Love") who returns for the sequel. "People initially questioned why I would be in a comic book film, but I thought it felt really natural and it was a great experience and so much fun. I was thrilled with the way it turned out, but I was a little taken aback by how big the film became." "I think the tone of 'Iron Man' was what made the movie a winner," says says two time Golden Globe® winner Robert Downey Jr (TV'S "Ally McBeal" & "Sherlock Holmes"). "There was this feeling that we took the subject matter seriously but didn’t take ourselves too seriously." It was Downey Jr who pushed for Theroux to write the "Iron Man 2" script largely based on his experience on "Tropic Thunder". Downey Jr says that on "Tropic Thunder" he knew "by the time we were shooting Act 3 that everything he’d set up earlier in the film had paid off. He’s very fluid. I just knew that he was our guy. And fortunately, everyone else agreed." Among the challenges Theroux faced in the initial stages of the script writing process was finding a jumping-off point for the complex character of Tony Stark. In developing the storyline for "Iron Man 2", the filmmakers had to decide what story elements and characters to draw from in the more than six hundred issues of "Iron Man" comics Marvel has published over the past fourty two years. For Downey Jr, the opportunity to continue playing the eccentric billionaire industrialist Tony Stark was one he truly appreciated. "In the first film Tony was in this kind of nether-world, somebody who needed to be put in check. By the time "Iron Man 2" starts you’re essentially seeing Tony’s persona, and he’s showing that persona to everything and everyone around him because he doesn’t want them to know that anything has changed," Downey Jr ("Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") notes. "But a lot has changed, and he’s really in quite a desperate way. The hero’s journey is really what he’s not telling people, not what he’s doing with or without a suit on. And that extends to his own emotional insecurity by not really being able to share it with Pepper." Keeping Tony in line as well as being the voice of reason and stability at Stark Industries is his trustworthy and indispensable executive assistant: Virginia 'Pepper' Potts. "She’s a good girl and a very grounded person, which is why she is able to handle all of the curveballs that Tony is constantly throwing her way," the 1998 Russian Guild of Film Critics Golden Aries Award winning actress ("Sliding Doors") says. Another familiar face in the Iron Man legacy is Tony’s good friend, Lieutenant Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes. While the duo has always enjoyed a very symbiotic relationship, this time round there is a strain in their relationship. It seems that 'strain' was behind replacing Terrence Howard (the highest-paid cast member on "Iron Man" at $US401,000), with Don Cheadle (who co-starred with Howard in the triple Oscar® winner "Crash"), a lifelong fan of Marvel Comics. "Growing up, I loved Marvel Comics and was into the X-Men and Iron Man," says Cheadle. "I always loved those characters because they were all very fallible people who found their way through whatever particular mission they were trying to deal with at the time. To me, it was really interesting to have characters who were painted that way and were not just black and white." "Don Cheadle is a very intelligent, very talented guy, who asked a lot of smart, tough questions, and that’s my favorite kind of actor," says Favreau. "He’s not someone who questions things just for the sake of asking questions." "Don has great natural chemistry with Robert and can go toe to toe with him in a way that his character needs to in the film," adds co-producer Latcham. Downey Jr backed that up by noting: "Don is too evolved as a person and as an actor to just pick up where someone left off. He chose to be true to the character and the seriousness of the story, which shows a lot of discipline since he’s an actor with so much natural charm." Joining the cast is Scarlett Johansson who plays both Natalie Rushman, a sexy new employee from the Legal Dept at Stark Industries and the lycra clad Natasha Romanoff a.k.a, Black Widow. 1998 YoungStar Award winner Johansson ("The Horse Whisperer") remembers what happened when "Iron Man" came out. "My mom saw the film and loved it. I thought 'Wow, my mom doesn’t know anything about comics and if the film spans a wide age demographic then it must be really good.' The action was great, but it also was romantic, funny, clever and witty. So when I heard that there was a possible part in the second installment, I was all over it and determined to be in the film." One of Iron Man’s new adversaries is a mysterious Russian technology expert named Ivan Vanko played by 2009 BAFTA Film Award winner Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler") who revealed: "Well, the character is Russian, so I went to Russia and spent some time there. I spent time in a prison so I could understand how the whole underground system operated. It was quite challenging learning to speak Russian." What's It All About?

The world now knows billionaire industrialist Tony Stark is Iron Man. Now Tony seeks to underscore the benefits of the Iron Man suit by re-launching his late father Howard’s extravagant Stark Expo, a showcase for the humanitarian innovations inspired by its technology. After a glitzy opening, Tony is subpoenaed to appear before a Senate enquiry. Here, in what is nothing less than a kangaroo court, the U.S. government insists that he turn the revolutionary weapon over to the military. But a Senate enquiry will be the least of his worries. In Russia, Ivan Vanko, a mysterious figure from the Stark family’s past, is constructing his own devastating weapon based on Stark’s technology. Overwhelmed on all fronts and facing his own personal demons, Tony a.k.a Iron Man must finally call on his allies, old and new, to help him confront gathering forces that threaten to not only destroy him, but all mankind.

The Verdict "Those who were fans of "Iron Man" will (unlike fans of the "Transformers" franchise) not be disappointed with the second edition, "Iron Man 2", a film which can claim a rare achievement indeed: a sequel which exceeds all expectations and is in all ways, far better and more entertaining than the original. Like many fans of the 2008 smash hit, I have to take my hat off to director Jon Favreau, writer Justin Theroux and all those associated with the project who somehow managed to incorporate so many characters, seamlessly into the sequel without cluttering it up. Two cast members deserve singling ot. The first is Mickey Rourke. He not only went to Russia, but spent time in a prison there, studied the art of prison tattoos and spent three hours a day, six days a week with dialect coach Elena Baranova ("Air Force One") just to learn how to speak a paragraph of Russian dialogue. His effort gives his character the seal of authenticity. The second cast member is Scarlett Johansson. Sorry guys, but unfortunately, Johansson is more than just a pretty face, a great set of boobs and a cute arse that nearly pips the best bum in Hollywood, which of course belongs to Rene Russo. Johansson plays two character. The sexy, mysterious Natalie from Stark Industries Legal Dept and the lycra clad Natasha Romanoff from S.H.I.E.L.D. The latter role as the Black Widow posed a challenge for the actress, who recalled seeing the costume for the first time was both frightening and highly motivating. "I had a freak-out moment that lasted about half a day, but then I said 'Okay, time to suck it up' and just went full force into getting in shape to wear the costume and perform the physical action so it looked just right." Stunt coordinator Tommy Harper revealed, " We did wind sprints, stretching and kicking and she really put her heart into it from day one." It pays off in her stunning debut action scene. And it shows how much effort everyone was prepared to put in to make this sequel a gloriously, entertaining, experience. And I'm sure there will be many fans who like myself, will see it more than once. Totally Top Shelf. 5 STARS." The Production Team

Director Screenplay Comic Book Producer Original Music D.O.P. Film Editors Casting Production Design Art Direction Set Decoration Costume Design

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Jon Favreau Justin Theroux Stan Lee/Don Heck/Larry Lieber/Jack Kirby Kevin Feige John Debney Matthew Libatique Dan Lebental & Richard Pearson Sarah Finn & Randi Hiller J. Michael Riva Page Buckner/Michael E. Goldman/Suzan Wexler Lauri Gaffin Mary Zophres

Who Is Playing Who?

Robert Downey Jr Jon Favreau Gwyneth Paltrow Don Cheadle Scarlett Johansson Sam Rockwell Mickey Rourke Samuel L. Jackson Clark Gregg John Slattery Garry Shandling Paul Bettany Kate Mara Leslie Bibb Philippe Bergeron

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Tony Stark Happy Hogan Pepper Potts Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes Natalie/Natashaf Justin Hammer Ivan Vanko Nick Fury Agent Coulson Howard Stark Senator Stern Jarvis U.S. Marshal Christine Everhart Detective Lemieux

Run Time 124 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2010 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2010 The Movie Pages & impact Internet Services. All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian and International Copyright. Trademark Laws and Intellectual Property Rights apply.