MovieChat Forums > Iron Man 2 (2010) Discussion > Elevates The Comic Book Genre, Great Fil...

Elevates The Comic Book Genre, Great Film

posted 14 years ago by StarkTech
43 replies | jump to latest

I love this quote by Robert Downey Jr.: “I can honestly say that Tony Stark is the coolest character I’ve ever played. If I look at anything, it’s the mythology that has grown up around him and how I can use that to raise this movie to a really high order of art.” Mission accomplished, Robert. IM1 took the comic book genre to the highest level and IM2 builds perfectly upon the first film. Downey and Favreau again deliver a movie with as much feeling as it has action and intensity. In fact, the action is taken to the next level while sacrificing none of the complexity or heart that made the first film an instant classic. I totally agree with most who are STILL raving about Iron Man 2.

[–] Kia00 14 years ago

Marvel has done this with all their studio films. They've taken the genre to the next level. Thank God for them because the other studios are batting below .500 with their stuff.

[–] John_T_Chance 13 years ago

21-5 for Verlander. Nice name!

[–] blairbitchproject 9 years ago

Batman series is still holding strong...

[–] hrmnrabb 14 years ago

Again, It's good to see people have let go of the "letdown" factor and realized how smart and how well done IM2 was done. People loved Iron Man 1 so much that they built this film up to be the greatest thing ever. Just because it couldn't match that unattainable height doesn't mean it's not a great film.

Iron Man 2 is a quality film. It rates an 8/10 or higher and if that's "bad" by comparison to the original then so be it. I grew tired of gauging that letdown effect long ago.

"Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it."

[–] blackdoug 14 years ago

Iron Man 2 is the best film of its genre and that's a certainty at this point. That's a good point here, in its genre it's top of the line. Who cares how it compares to The Godfather or The King's Speeech or Pretty Woman for that matter???

[–] John_T_Chance 13 years ago

The thing is that I agree that all the Marvel films add texture to one another. Every film that is released makes the other stronger since they are all linked. Avengers will only keep doing this and add even more depth to IM2 and the others. Like one great book chapter for chapter.

[–] mightymac101 13 years ago

The thing is that I agree that all the Marvel films add texture to one another. Every film that is released makes the other stronger since they are all linked. Avengers will only keep doing this and add even more depth to IM2 and the others. Like one great book chapter for chapter.

That's what makes Marvel and their films better and why no other franchise can compete right now. It's TV series depth with big budget action. They can develop each character on their own terms without jamming too much in to any one film. Then, they can pay off things in other films. I agree that, for example, Captain America adds depth to Hulk and Iron Man 2. Who else could pull that off? Yet, each films stands on its own as is epic all by itself.

[–] Coneydogg 13 years ago

Iron Man 2 did what Spider-Man 2 did and that's continue the story in a remarkable yet higher paced level. How many sequels can you say that about?

[–] StarkTech 13 years ago

So happy to see everyone agree with me! Thanks to all.

[–] assman200 13 years ago

Marvel has yet to make a bad film, agree so much.

[–] scotts863 13 years ago

This is exactly what Marvel has done not only to the genre but to adventure films in general. They've made everyone raise their game. Even before they took over solo control, films like Spider-Man, Blade and X-Men made the WB re-think Batman and other studios take adventure seriously. Everyone should be thanking them, not hating their success.

[–] ThomasMagnumPI 13 years ago

http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/article/articleDetail.jsp ?id=741921

Marvel elevates the Ultimate franchise!

[–] blackdoug 13 years ago

I hate the Ultimate Universe but regular Marvel is king.

[–] ThomasMagnumPI 13 years ago

In fact, the action is taken to the next level while sacrificing none of the complexity or heart that made the first film an instant classic.

That really is an undeniable fact. Anyone saying otherwise saw a different film, is lying or hates Marvel so much that it makes them irrational and blind.

[–] shacklefort 13 years ago

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01624/iron-man-girls_16244 19i.jpg Elevates EVERYTHING!

[–] TigerHoods 13 years ago

I'm a major Iron Man fan, and I enjoyed the 2nd movie, but it's not great. It's just good.

The thing that I think a lot of people feel about the movie is that it had the foundation of being the best superhero movie and then with the deviations to Avengers references, it took a notch down. The first 20-30 minutes of this movie paces itself to be the BEST superhero movie, from understanding the parallels of Tony's braggart nature concealing the truth about his possible death to Vanko's motivation of tormenting Stark. If you look at the Blu-Ray stuff and the novelization, it's apparent that Vanko was tipped off and is working for the Ten Rings, yet the movie never mentions this. It's also obvious that Vanko doesn't want to kill Stark, because killing him won't destroy the legacy, it'll only raise it. That's usually been the point of Mandarin as well as many of Stark's villains. "All I have to do is sit back and watch as the world will consume you."

You have all these themes going down, and then afterwards, they're dismissed. I know, people hate the drunken scene. But it makes sense, he's going to die, so you'd party like there's no tomorrow because there just might not be. But the fight scene was a bit comical to show that frustration (I don't mean the lines or the acting, but the fight scene itself).

So after this, you have about 30 minutes devoted to discovering this cure which showcases Stark's genius but ignores all the other themes going on. Vanko comes off as a mustache-twirling villain, Tony's heart ailments are put in the back-burner, and the whole "Sins of the Father" theme is minimized to the point where its dismissed. And while I like the end scene, I wish that it wasn't just Iron Man flying away from stuff and dodging. Let him throw down and do a bit of both (he doesn't do it enough in this one, he definitely did it in the last one.)

So all these things, and the over exposure of Happy Hogan and the lack of painting Justin Hammer as a REAL THREAT (in the comics, Hammer may not be Stark, but he's not an idiot or a fraud either) hurt the movie. I still watch it and I definitely enjoyed it, but not only did it have the hype of being better than the first movie, it actually STARTS that way, and then falls.

Anyone want to refute or debate this, I'm down.

[–] ba_bam_bam 13 years ago

The Avengers references did nothing but ADD to the film. It enhanced the plot and after seeing Avengers it will add even more depth to these past films. Why can't people see that???

[–] TigerHoods 13 years ago

In a paradoxical light, people can't see it because they made the issues so overt. I like Nick Fury, honestly. But after the beginning, he no longer struggled with the issues of his heart. Did you ever get the impression that while finding this new element that he was fighting for his life? I sure didn't.

Yes, it showcases Stark's intellect (something I felt the Hulk didn't do enough with Banner) but there really is no sense of danger or peril. And since Vanko's motivations are totally unclear, he comes off as a villain just to meddle, instead of desecrate the Stark legacy. I love Sam Rockwell, and I can deal with a young Justin Hammer, but he seemed so helpless in terms of tech savvy. He's usually the brains and provides the enhancements while the lackeys do the work. Here, it's the opposite.

[–] scotts863 13 years ago

I thought this was true until I saw Avengers. If IM2 elevated the genre Avengers put it past orbit and in to space!

We have lifetoff!!!

[–] Dash1969 13 years ago

IM2 elevates the genre and Avengers pushes it in to orbit and beyond.

[–] MovieMystro 13 years ago

The Avengers may not be able to be judged against anything because it's so much ahead of the curve. It's not fair to any solo film.

[–] Marvelouis 13 years ago

A lot of superhero comic book movies seem to share a problem in tone. Most films try to cope with wild concepts by emphasizing darkness, even over-emphasizing it. IM2 is darker than the first but keeps in line with the wonderful tome it already established for this character and universe.

[–] assman200 11 years ago

It's almost everything I wanted in a sequel.