Usually I can't stand Gwyneth Paltrow. The kind of movies she is usually in are the kind I run from. However, for some reason, I ADORE her in 'Iron Man 1 and 2' and in 'Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow'. I don't even know why that is because she is exactly the same kind of actress if she is in an action film or a love story.
The difference she brings to 'Iron Man 2' fits exactly with my opinion of the new sequel. I don't know why I liked it but I did enjoy it very much. It was loud and smart and continued the story that was so well began with the first movie. As a fan of the character I felt like the movie was made for a geek like me.
I can see where people unfamiliar with the characters or the situations from the comic books could have a problem with this movie. Everything is not layed out on the table in front of you. You have to know the characters. You have to know the comic book to fully appreciate what is happening. This is the kind of movie where it helps to bring a geek along with you to explain to you who certain characters are in the larger world (SHIELD, Nick Fury, The Avengers Initiative ect...)
If all you bring to this movie is the original 'Iron Man' then you have every right to be confused by the motivation of certain characters and be surprised by the introduction of others. That is not your fault.
However, if names like Natasha Romanov and Nick Fury are familiar to you then you are in for a great experience. Everything is bigger and louder and more explosive than the original. If you wanted to see men in iron suits fight each other then this is the summer blockbuster for you.
You can see the plan Marvel has for all their live action heroes and the movies that are to come out in the next couple of years. You can see the beginning of a larger movie landscape where movies can overlap and certain characters can appear in more than their own films. Iron Man is clearly the linchpin of this whole idea.
Even without all that extra stuff you can still enjoy Robert Downey Jr. doing what he does best and playing a character that he totally understands. Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are good villains and for once the hero is not overshadowed by the bad guys.
All in all a great start to the summer movie season.
