This here post is for talking about the Iron Man 2 movie. If you do not want to be exposed to spoilers I suggest you go elsewhere…like the Weekend Open Thread where there is always a party going on. You’ll find me there throughout the weekend.
PLEASE DO NOT comment about Ion Man 2 in the Weekend Open Thread. I’d like to keep that spoiler free for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie. Thanks.
J.
The CCW*TV Companion Blog 
Alright, cool. Here are the things which really, really rubbed my rhubarb the wrong way. And I think most of my problems can be mostly be summed up like this: Iron Man 2 had way too many action movie cliches, the kind you’re used to finding in a Michael Bay film.
1) That racetrack scene. Where were the fucking cops? Dude’s just walzing around with his fancy light whips and no one’s taken a shot at him from the stands? And cars are driving at Mickey Rourke, exploding behind him and he doesn’t even blink an eye or flinch? But none of that compared to Whiplash getting struck by Happy Hogan’s car TWICE and he’s still fighting against Iron Man. C’mon, man. That’s just total bullshit. And, yet, as much as that scene annoyed me, all I could think of was how cool the suitcase armor was.
2) And speaking of Mickey Rourke, his character had no real depth at all. Okay, so Stark’s father did his father wrong. So, of course, that means he wants to kill everyone and everything. (Except his bird, cuz we need to show that he has a sensitive side.) Oh, and Whiplash is able to kill and hang two of Hammer’s bodyguards because he’s so badass and tough, even without his whips.
3) I couldn’t understand half of what Mickey Rourke was saying. His scenes could have used subtitles.
4) Rhodey took Stark’s armor. Really? HOW???? You would think he had protocols in place to prevent that, and then Fury even calls attention to that fact and Tony just shrugs his shoulders. And what about Jarvis? Wouldn’t it prevent the armor from being used by someone else? And let’s not overlook the fact that Rhodey STOLE the armor to give to the military and Tony is seemingly not bothered by this fact at all and never gets mad at Rhodey at all.
5) Tony’s drunken scene was funny at first but shooting the fruit and bottles at the party got to be a bit much. It began to border on evil-Peter-Parker territory, ala Spider-Man 3.
6) The drones at the end of the movie never posed much of a threat.
7) Tony’s dying subplot got a bit contrived as the movie went on, what with him having to watch a video of his dad who invented a new element that he hid in plain sight on a giant globe on the grounds and then Tony has to play Bob Villa and tear up his lab to build this tiny triangle thingie and… ugh. Just have Tony get a eureka moment, cure himself, and move on. Plus, how the fuck did Nick Fury know what was wrong with him? Whiplash, I could maybe understand him knowing, but Fury?
8) Don Cheadle’s Rhodey had no real charisma. Terrance Howard was a much better Rhodes.
9) Whiplash shows up at the end in the same Iron Man armor as the drones. There was nothing cool or distinctive about it. It would have been nice if he had his own thing.
10) Samuel Jackson looked rather ridiculous in his getup.
I think those are my main issues. And, yet, I still liked the film.
Ok. I’ll now comment on the problems you listed.
1. I agree with everything you said but I have another problem to add on top of that. So, did Whiplash plan on going onto the track to cause a commotion in order to get Iron Man’s attention so they could fight? BECAUSE Tony decided to race the Stark car at the last minute so there was no reason for Whiplash to think that Stark WAS driving. And then when he see’s that Stark was driving he was not surprised AT ALL. Whiplash’s plan wasn’t explained very well. Did he want to test out his whips? Did he want to draw IM’s attention? That part bugged me.
2. Revenge is one of the simplest plot devices in an action flick. Cliched.
3.Micky Rourke actually wanted to speak Russian in the film and have his dialog subtitled. Doesn’t seem like such a bad idea now, huh?
4. Agreed. Pretty dick move on Rhodes part.
5.The drunk scene was funny…up to a point. You are totally right. It went on tooooo long. Seeing him drunk in the armor was classic though.
6. Agreed
7. I think my second favorite scene in the movie was Tony watching the edited film of his father. I thought it was a good character moment. Fury may have known he was sick because the Black Widow probably told him what was going on. SHe was spying on him after all.
8. Agreed. I love Cheadle but this movie needed Howard.
9. Avi and I were actually talking about that. Avi mentioned that it would have been better if Whiplash painted the suit to make it look different since he is really into tattoos and stuff. Though didn’t his armor sort of have gladiator loin cloth of sorts?
10. Agreed.
J.
Kevin Maguire brought up a good point too when we were discussing this on the train ride home: how the f did Tony know where Pepper was at the end when the drones were about to explode? I guess he must have her GPS’d or something.
Oh, and you’re right about Whiplash just showing up at the racetrack. That bothered me too.
Man, first Comic Book Club and now Kevin Maguire? You going out drinking with Rob Liefeld this weekend too?
J.
some if not alot of your problems are really just nitpicks, true alot have plot problems but somethings are not suppose to make sence lol idk i was mainly looking for acting flaws and stuff. i thought cheadle did an awsome job as rhodes. he was my favorite charecter. i found captain americas “sheild” to be a pretty funny part. heehee
Everything you had a problem with I loved.
Don Cheadle actually worked well with RDJ pretty well, even better than Howard in my opinion. Extra bonus he actually carried himself like a military man something I would notice.
I couldn’t disagree more. They had no buddy chemistry together. And I love Cheadle as an actor, but this film was missing Howard.
Howard felt too whiny, Cheadle was calm and composed.
You felt his fustration with Tony, but he wasn’t bitchy about it.
Finally I can chime in on this.
let me also go point by point and then some on this, CBS!
1) While your point on where were the cops is a valid one, my concern was while he was doing all this whipping and causing all this destruction, why is it he never gets hit by any of the debris he’s walking thru?
2) I can accept he’s that badass
3) I thought what he was saying in Russian was of no consequense
4) I took from that, that their was an unspoken agreement between the two that if things went awry that Rhodey inhis best judgment might have to step up (Protect Tony from Tony as it were)
5) Didn’t boter me
6) True, but what got me was all this tech armor runs amok and there appeared to be no casualties. How does thtt work?
7) Nick Fury knowing I put to Shield knowing a lot of stuff that would be secret or classified to most people
8) Having not seen the 1st Ironman I don’t have the who should be Rhodey conflict. I will say this, while Cheadle didn’t knock it outta the park for me, I can’t see where Howard delivering the same lines would have made it any better.
9) There were the whips. 🙂
10) His 1st scene, did he step off of the Spirit set?
And to conclude: Scarletts’ pencil thin performance was’nt helped by having her use a combination of leftover Bourne Identity quickshots combined with wwe wrestling theactrics. And that lame after the end credits deal I could have done without. By Odin’s beard, methinks that thine ending could have been handled better 🙂
You never saw the first Iron Man?
well with the Rhodey and the armour, Tony was kind of in a what’s the point moment so I’m guessing he had kind of given up and was going give Rhodey the Iron Man suit anyways to some degreee since he’d already given Pepper Stark Industries
You didn’t see my comment in the last open thread? I ran into Kevin Maguire on the subway ride home from the movie. That was a pretty cool moment. Maguire is a member of the gym that my brother used to manage and he recognized him, so we all started chatting about IM 2. Maguire had just seen the movie as well. Let’s just say he didn’t like the movie so much.
No, I must have missed that. That’s a very cool story though.
J.
I think I might see Marmaduke with Brian Bendis. We’ll see how it goes.
I think I’d rather read Bendis than see Marmaduke. This is coming from someone who’s seen both Garfield movies.
Did you happen to catch this week’s Onion A.V. Club? They previewed every summer movie and related them in comparison to Marmaduke. It was mildly amusing.
I just checked it out now. It’s pretty funny. I do disagree with them about MacGruber. I think that looks about as bad as Marmaduke. I was sick of that character after the first bit on SNL.
As my brother said while we were watching the trailer, how is it that a MacGyver parody can be made into a movie but not MacGyver itself?
I don’t know what happened to it(they probably settled out of court) but the creator of MacGyver sued & tried to stop MacGruber from getting released.
I just got an email from a female friend of mine in Australia. Here’s a portion of what she wrote:
“I went to Hobart (capital of Tassie) last weekend and saw Iron Man 2. It was meh. Iron man should have died. Clearly zap-man was way tougher than him. What a sack of shit.”
Wow…was she possibly drunk we she wrote that?
J.
No, it’s just her way of talking. Which is why I plan on marrying her one day.
Most excellant.
J.
I’m not sure what to think. It was both unimpressive and exciting. At least they didn’t spend too much time letting RDjr ham it up with the robotic arm. Jackson and Johanson looked like they were dressing up for Halloween in costume. Her stunt double was good for her fight scene thou. If I had to choose between the two I’d skip this and wait for the Sherlock Holmes sequel.
I loved Ironman2!
Don’t understand the complaints, sure theres some problems but overall it was a entertaining romp.
That’s how I felt about Kick-Ass.
Yes, I had to go there.
Heh!
Your not alone
does anyone know why nick fury has the eyepatch? did they ever explain it in any comic?
He was goofing around with a Red Rider BB gun.
J.
hahah
616 Fury got shrapnel in the eye when he was in the army.I’m not sure about ultimate Fury.
Jacked off into his eye when he was a kid. I was fortunate because I wore eyeglasses and never had that problem.
That story was actually NOT in continuity ballsack.
J.
Oh, maybe I was thinking of the Ultimate version.
Well, that does sound like something Millar would write.
J.
1. Tony’s dying: this was really unnecessary in my opinion. They could have had Stark trying to find an alternative energy source that doesn’t keep running out like those cartridges he kept pulling out of the arc tech.
2. Tony & Pepper: I’ve heard other reviews complain about all the bickering that went on between them, saying it went on too long. I have to disagree. If you’ve ever been around different married couples for a long period of time you hear them bickering all the time. It’s nothing too serious, just a little tiff. That’s what they were trying to show between the two characters. My only complaint about them is that the moments between them weren’t as important as the first, even with the kiss.
3. HAMMER: This was absolutely confusing and pointless. This guy was supposed to be a major opponent to Stark, yet all he did was get Whiplash released, which he probably could have done himself. Then he gets a hold of an Iron Man suit, thank you Rhodey, and he still goes forward with the drones? It was just horrible how this military contractor was so pointless.
4. Natasha: I really liked how they portrayed her. The highlight of the Black Widow for me was when she was going through that whole fight scene taking down all these guys twice her size, Happy’s still working on the one guard. For the last guy she uses a bottle of mace, as if to say any woman can take a man down without having all that super training. I just got the warm fuzzies when I saw that.
5. Overall: I enjoyed the film very much. The good parts of the film, such as Caps shield and Thor’s hammer at the end of the credits just to name two, outweighed the bad parts.
I didn’t mind Tony’s dying subplot. I just didn’t like the way it resolved itself. Besides, isn’t Howard Stark supposed to be an inventor? Why would he discover a new element and then hide it? And Tony tearing up his lab to install new pipes seemed a bit excessive as well. Can’t he just go to one of the main labs in Stark Industries and be like, “Fellas, I need to do something for a few minutes. Check back later.”
I’m surprised there were complaints about Tony and Pepper? To me that was the strongest element of the movie — the interaction between the two characters.
I didn’t mind Natasha but to me there was nothing, except maybe her costume, that screamed BLACK WIDOW to me. She was basically acting like one of Charlie’s Angels from the McG films.
Wasn’t Tony under “house arrest” at the time? That’s probably why he was working in his basement.
J.
well since I hit the lottery (for a whopping 41 bucks….woohoo.), I guess I’ll check out IMpt2
unless something else comes up….I still kinda want to see kick-ass:-)
Not a fan of Cheadle in this movie, was sorry Howard was not cast again as Rhodes. I thought RDJ did a bad ass job as Stark again, he was made for that role.I was let down by Rouke as Whiplash. Even though I enjoyed the first Iron Man much more, I do think this is a movie a comic fan should see and for sure on the big screen.
I am forever a Don Cheadle Fan. I won’t be picky about little acting mistakes…
You know what else irks me which I forgot to mention? The fact that Rhodey knew how to use the Iron Man armor. I’m assuming this was the first time he put it on. Think how long it took Stark to learn how to fly the damn thing, never mind knowing how to use all the weapons and everything.
There are bigger things to be ‘irked’ over. We are talking about comic book logic… if anything, you shouldn’t expect anything realistic in these movies.
You know what irked me? The fact that everything was “moving” and that there was “sound” too. Nothing like the comic.
J.
The point is that there were a lot of little things that irked me about this film. You put it all together and it detracts somewhat from the experience, if you’re busy thinking about these little details. And that’s what I appreciated about the first film: the little details. Like having Tony stopping in the air before landing, which you saw in this film. He even stopped right before picking up Pepper at the very end. I dig those little details, which it is disappointing why some of the other things that happened onscreen seem poorly thought out.
I was particulary pleased with Happy Hogan, the scenes with him and Black Widow all excellent.
Too bad they killed off Happy in the comics.
It’s comics someone will bring him back, just like Nightcrawler will be back eventually.
Non-costume wearing mortals are resurrected a lot less frequently than superheroes & supervillains.
this was as much a comic film as the dark knight…
it had really no base in continuity at all and that bugged me.
also why did we never see stark replace those little batteries in his heart last film?
how did whiplash(did they ever call him that??) know how to use the armor so well in like a day or so.
same for war machine. even though he was a little wobbly flying.
black widow was useless and the costume was like someone else said, halloween like she was altogether a flop in the movie.
i really did not like this movie at all.
i thought the incredible hulk was better.
Man, and people say that I’m too negative. 🙂
J.
I guess its pretty hip these days to be a negative nancy.
Then I must be the coolest cat on the block.
J.
Its that damn AVGN’s fault.
Tru dat.
J.
He’s gonna take you back to the past…
I find myself doing it all the time now.
I wish I were doing it all the time.
I wish I was doing it even some of the time.
J.
Do any comic book movies follow strict continuity? Superman II had Clark Kent using amnesia kiss powers.
I hear that Marmaduke will be in continuity.
J.
But will it be post-crisis or silver age Marmaduke?
Actually they are going to use the Golden Age Marmaduke. I’m just as surprised as everyone else.
J.
I’d see it if it were zombie Marmaduke.
Fuck Marmaduke. I want a Mother Goose & Grimm movie.
this movie followed none at all though. it took the basic outline of someones powers and the character names. thats about it.
just seems weird to me.
i like the warmachine in the movie poster better also. in the movie he was like super shiney tin foil. instead of the cooler grey
That’s sad to hear. Except for Jarvis being a robot, Nick Fury looking like the Ultimate version, and Stark being held captive by Middle Easterners(although Ellis recently made that change in the comic without any explanation at all), the first movie was pretty faithful to 616 canon(more that The Dark Knight was to DC’s Earth 1).
Fury was just like the Ult Fury
Man no pleasing geeks
3 things…
1) How was he exactly like Ultimate Nick Fury? Not only did he barely have any screen time but the comic version is pretty much a manipulative & unlikable asshole. Sam Jackson, imo, didn’t come across that way in the first Iron Man movie.
2) Why put in Ultimate Nick Fury in a movie that takes everything else from the 616 Universe?
3) I fucking hate Ultimate Nick Fury(and no it’s not because he’s black).
I can answer that by simply stating Tony Stark is constantly updating his tech, even his chest piece.
How many armors and various changes in his tech has happened in the comics? Too many too count.
If nothing else I’ll be going into my theatre house already skepticaal, not because I think it will be abad film, but…if nothing else, Whiplash as a protagonist does not set well with me. A guy with a crackle whip is suppose to be a match against a guy with a billion dollar armored and armed suit That’s like one of the Moleman’s minions challenging Hulk to a strong man contest and makin’ it look good.
Skepticism aside, and no problems occur, I will be checking it out tomorrow. Worse case scenario: There is the BlackWidow costume, and its wearer. 🙂
Anyone else think the Thor movie is going to bomb?
No. I think it will be Da Bomb!
J.
Thor will be good. It is in good hands. Captain America might be a turkey thou.
I have concerns about the guy playing Thor, especially reading how Anthony Hopkins was openly mocking his acting on the set.
I doubt it will bomb, but if Michael Bay has taught us anything, shit movies can still make money. It may be successful financially but who knows about its quality. Watch Ca$h and see how good an actor “Thor” is.
Considering the movie Ca$h came & left the theaters after a week and who knows if it will hit DVD, the actor playing “Thor” is TERRIBLE. He makes the guy from Avatar seem like Laurence Olivier.
Iron Man 2 already made 52 mil on Friday alone. Pretty good. I’d like to make that in a day.
http://www.collider.com/2010/05/08/friday-box-office-iron-man-2-scores-2010-biggest-debut-52-million/
I saw it the other day and I had some problems with it. Like you guys said how did Whiplash know Stark was going to race? I did like Cheadle as Rhodey though, he felt more like a real military man and he had good chemistry with Stark. I thought Rourke stole the show and that Whiplash needed more scenes. The guy playing Hammer was great in a completely inept tool kid of way. I felt the Fury parts were weak and that the middle was meh, but that final fight was just amazing. Overall, I enjoyed the movie and will probably see it again. Also, did anyone else geek out upon seeing Thor’s hammer?
I geeked out a bit seeing how authentic it was to the comic book version. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised seeing how the costume matches. It’s really neat how Marvel is able to translate uniforms to the big screen.
I jizzed my pants. Does that count?
J.
Hmmm…yes. I can can neither agree or disagree with you on that.
J.
Sorry, I had a link to just the Iron Man 2 review, but there was a problem uploading it.
I enjoyed their review on Iron Man 2 and wanted to see what the CCW nation had to say. On a side note, I’m looking forward to seeing Michael Caine going all Death Wish in Harry Brown and I could give two shits about Mother and Child.
Huh, Ghost World as the #1 comic movie ever? Pretty ballsy pick and quite hard to argue against. The fact that they included Old Boy makes me respect this list.
J.
Agreed.
I need to see Old Boy.
You need to see Old Boy.
J.
I’m a real pussy when it comes to animal cruelty. I wanted to see Old Boy but after hearing that the guy eats a live octopus(and knowing the surprise at the ending), I knew I wasn’t going to bother.
You do realize all animals you consume were killed, and most in a cruel manner. You should watch the film Earthlings on Google video. It’s narrated by Joaquin Phoenix. I felt completely numb afterward. I couldn’t even touch my suede Pumas or leather belt for a week.
That’s why I contemplate being a vegetarian every day. There’s also a huge difference between a slaughter house and to be slowly chewed while alive. Can you imagine the reaction that movie would have received if the guy started biting into a chicken or a cat instead of a “faceless” cephalopod?
Well, I’ve been vegan for three years now. So you won’t be alone on here.
Interesting review. I do agree that there was no real centralized plot to Iron Man 2. It was kinda all over the place, what with Tony dying, Pepper taking over as CEO, Justin Hammer, Whiplash and his life in Russia, etc.
As to their choices for top 5 comic book movies, there’s no way I’d put Dark Knight on my list. And how could you not have either Superman or Superman II up there? And X-Men 2 was every bit the equal to Spidey 2. And Watchmen was awesome and deserves to be on there as well.
I have to agree with you about the 2 Superman movies.
Jose, since this is your blog, what are your top 5 comic book movies(and your #1 worst).
If you’re gonna answer that, Jose, do it in the open thread so everyone can disagree with your choices.
Fine. I’ll repost me answer over there too.
J.
Hmmmm…well I am making this list off the top of my head so I may want to make some changes in the future. In no real order and based on American comics only:
Spider-Man 2
Batman Begins
Iron Man
Superman II
Josie and the Pussycats
Honorable mentions:
Ghost World
A History of Violence
V for Vendetta
Worst Comic Movie:
The Mother Fucking Spirit
J.
Are you serious about Josie & The Pussycats?
Deadly serious.
J.
Good. I wanted to make sure you weren’t fucking with us before I made myself look like an idiot. Not only did I love that movie(I had to go by myself to see it), I played the hell out of the soundtrack as well. I usually forget that it’s not only a comic book movie, but the only Archie Comics characters to make it to the big screen after almost 70 years of publishing.
I still don’t know how the usually protective Archie Comics let this song make it to the movie.
Well, ballsack thinks we are completely “gay” for liking it(Him saying that coupled with his “name”, the irony is not lost on me). With that mentality I can see why he loved Kick Ass so much. 😛
J.
It is a really funny movie. One of the best satires ever in my opinion. People dismiss it right away.
J.
At least the girls starring in “Josie & The Pussycats” were legal. Does Roman Polanski post on CCW?
I always seem to change up my favorite comic book movies every time I list them(except for The Shadow & Superman 2), but I can totally get behind your lists. If you replaced Spider-Man 2 with The Shadow and added The Crow to honorable mentions, it would be perfect.
Good call on The Spirit. I was going to say Elektra, but The Spirit is far worse than that.
Ah, forgot about the Crow. Good call. I liked the Shadow too. I had a thing for Penelope Ann Miller when I was younger. Still kinda do.
J.
I thought I was the only guy who liked The Crow who doesn’t dye his hear black, have multiple tats/piercings, and wears eyeliner.
Miller probably never looked hotter than she did in The Shadow. It kills me that that movie was such a bomb. Great score, great villain, hot love interest, fun blend of action & humor, and Jonathan Winters. What’s not to love?
Watchmen was in another list that was not related to superhero movies so I guess they didn’t want to repeat themselves or something. I don’t know about you guys but I enjoy watching Current on TV, even though I’m not a big fan of Al Gore, but some of the programming is kind of interesting.
What you posted above is the first time I’ve ever seen Current On TV. I think Ellen Fox is pretty cute though.
I withhold judgement on my favorite comic book movies until I see Scott Pilgrim.
the scene where tony and nick fury are talking close to the end, when fury is telling tony they want iron man, but not tony, theres a world map in the background. that made me wonder if thats a possible avengers hint.
its not likely i dont think, but looking at where some of the dots are one cant help but hope. theres one on the west coast usa, so iron man, one around where i imagine new mexico is, thor, one near new york, which could be anyone, maybe luke cage? theres one in africa, so… wakanda maybe? black panther! one up near scandinavia… so…. another asgardian?
anyway, this is all complete speculation with no real grounds or knowledge about the future, this is just something i noticed in the theatre last night. so this could be anything.
here are some screenshots, but remember children, piracy is bad!
Forget Batman — you are the world’s greatest detective.
new york could be hank pym and greenland could be cap (or where he was last seen)
new mexico could be colson and what he found in new mexico was the thor chainmail armor and donald blake could be in scandinavia about to find out he’s thor the one which looks to be the atlantic could be namor?
i think my favorite so far in no order cause i am picky is
incredible hulk, spiderman 2, watchmen, batman returns,
hope one day to add madman or concrete to that list if they ever do get made.
Sorry I haven’t been here recently. I’ve been a little busy lately. I saw Iron Man 2 on Friday night and overall I enjoyed it. There were a few things that bugged me, but those things have already been said here on the blog.
But I do have a funny story to tell. I saw this movie with my dad and we got to the theater early so we could get some good seats. We did. During the time before the movie started my dad and I saw two seperate groups of kids who realized they were in the wrong theater. Both of those groups of kids were looking for the same theater, but ended up in the wrong one before the movie started. My dad turned to me and said, “How much you wanna bet that that theater they’re looking for is showing Kick-Ass?” So after the movie ended my dad and I checked that theater to see what it was showing and sure enough… it was showing Kick-Ass.
I’m watching the CCW*TV review and I have a question: did Iron Man actually go around helping people at all in this movie? My memory is a little fuzzy of the second film, but I remember that in the first movie Iron Man was going around saving people who were being hurt by his technology. The same thing happened in the second movie but to a far lesser extent. This movie lacked any true heroics, IMO.
“This movie lacked any true heroics”
If that’s true, at least the movie was faithful to the comics.
It’s interesting that you mention that Smartass because while Pepper was “Rescue” in Invincible Iron Man she WAS actually more of a hero than Iron Man has been in years.
J.