Not just a stereotype American superhero film, ‘Iron Man’ sat itself alongside the most popular Marvel superheroes such as X-Men and Spiderman, with a second place amongst the most profitable films in 2008. Apart from substantial special effect, the film won the audience over with the lead character’s uneasy steps towards superhero-dom. The absence of natural born super power only enhances the human side of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), to whom the audiences relate to on a deeper level. In ‘Iron Man 2’, the loud and proud Tony Stark is to suffer from showing off his identity as the ‘Iron Man’ hastily.
Whiplash, Iron Man’s main enemy in this sequel, is a military weapon expert possessed with hi-tech nuclear resources. Successfully escapes from prison in Russia, he is to revenge on the grunge he holds against the Stark family. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is a gorgeous double agent tip-toeing her way between Tony and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), Stark’s business opponent, plans on a secret takeover. Confronted with losing his business, failing to operate the Iron Man armour and other major challenges, this is only the beginning of a hard-hitting chapter for Iron Man.
The new partner’s heavy weight war machine is certainly eye-catching. Apart from the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Samuel L. Jackson) appeared right at the end of the first ‘Iron Man’, Edward Norton also takes to the screen as ‘The Incredible Hulk’ this time. Performance by the star-studded cast, augmented in IMAX version, is truly not to be missed by Iron Man fans.
Text: Vincent Lau | Translation: dilettante
Update: 14 Apr 2010
