Road to Avengers Endgame | The best and worst of Iron Man 2

As we get closer to the release of the much awaited Avengers Endgame, here's looking back at 2010's Iron man 2 starring Robert Downey Jr.

robert downey jr as iron man aka tony stark

As we get ready for Avengers Endgame, here’s looking back at Iron Man 2.

It was with the 2008 film Iron Man that the iconic journey of the Marvel Cinematic Universe started with a bang. A superhero who was a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” bowled over the audience all over the world and 21 films on, still continues to do so. So, it was very natural that the sequel of Iron Man was highly awaited at the time. Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man was the latest craze and Iron Man 2 had a lot of expectations riding on it and even though it was quite a success at the time, the film had its flaws. Matching up to the standard of Iron Man was an impossible task to start with, but the makers tried to recreate the magic of the 2008 film.

With Avengers: Endgame releasing, here’s looking back at the best and the not-so-great things about Iron Man 2.

The best things about Iron Man 2:

1. Robert Downey Jr

This was the man we all went in to see and he did not disappoint. Being his arrogant but proud self, RDJ’s Iron Man was an instant hit in 2008 and he maintained that winning streak in the sequel as well.

Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark aka Iron Man was just as charismatic in this 2010 film.

2. Monaco Grand Prix scene

The Grand Prix scene when Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Vanko corners Tony Stark’s car is truly one of the best scenes in the film. Tony can’t get out of the mess but just at the right moment Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan arrive to save Tony.

3. Stark’s portable suit

Up until then, we had just seen Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit in the first movie and it blew us away so watching him adorn the portable suit in the Grand Prix scene left us amazed.

4. Natasha’s introduction

Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow was introduced in this film and while at the time we did not know that she was going to be an important part of the MCU, she still managed to leave an impact. Natasha is introduced as the conventionally good-looking lawyer but it is later revealed that she is an assassin.

Story continues below this ad

scarlett johansson as natasha romanoff aka black widow

Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, was introduced in Iron Man 2.

5. War Machine

Terrence Howard played this role in the first film but starting with Iron Man 2, this role has been played by Don Cheadle. His War Machine avatar is being controlled by the bad guys but his interest lies in saving Stark and humanity. Don’s War Machine was quite likeable in this film.

Three not-so-great things about Iron Man

1. Convoluted story

Iron Man 2’s storyline has way too many things going on at the same time. On one hand, we have a story about securing a defence contract, on the other hand, there is this whole other deal about Vanko avenging the Stark family. In addition to all of that, S.H.I.E.L.D. is also introduced as a part of the story, so the base of Avengers can be set up.

2. The villains

Story continues below this ad

MCU has always had a problem with creating strong villainous characters and it was quite evident in the early films as well. In Iron Man 2, we are given Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Vanko and Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer. While Vanko can’t stop talking about his birds, Hammer was just a bad guy who we knew was going to fail. And not just because he’s going up against Tony Stark but also because his character had no stakes in the bigger picture.

Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Vanko and Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer were both disappointing villains.

3. Too little action

Superhero films are sold on the action sequences, that’s what the audience goes in for. While Marvel gave a spectacle in Iron Man (2008), the sequel only had two major action scenes. The Monaco Grand Prix scene and the climax scene where Iron Man and War Machine go against Vanko were great to look at but it was too little action for a big superhero film.