Iron Man 2

Did You Know?

• A soundtrack album featuring AC/DC was released on April 19, 2010, in at least three versions; only two songs on it actually appear in the movie.
• The film score was composed by John Debney with Tom Morello, and Richard M. Sherman contributed the Stark Expo theme song 'Make Way for Tomorrow Today'.
• Author Alexander C. Irvine adapted the script into a novel titled Iron Man 2, released in April 2010.

Plot

In Russia, Ivan Vanko, mourning his father Anton Vanko—a former Stark Industries employee—builds a miniature arc reactor using old Stark Industries blueprints after seeing Tony Stark's disclosure of his identity as Iron Man. Six months later, Stark re-institutes the Stark Expo in New York City's Flushing Meadows–Corona Park and resists pressure to turn over his armored suits to the government and rival Justin Hammer. Stark learns the palladium core in his arc reactor is slowly poisoning him and cannot find a substitute. Growing despondent, he appoints Pepper Potts CEO of Stark Industries and promotes employee 'Natalie Rushman' as his assistant.

While competing in the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, Stark is attacked by Vanko, who wields electrified whips powered by his own arc reactor. Stark defeats Vanko but his armor is severely damaged. Impressed, Hammer fakes Vanko's death, breaks him out of prison, and asks him to build armored suits; Vanko decides unmanned drones are better. At his birthday party, Stark gets drunk in the Iron Man suit.

His friend James Rhodes dons a prototype armor and tries to restrain him; the fight ends in a stalemate, and Rhodes confiscates the armor for the U.S. Air Force. Nick Fury reveals 'Rushman' is S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder. Fury explains Anton Vanko and Howard invented the arc reactor together, but Howard had Anton deported. Fury gives Stark his father's old material, and Stark finds a diagram of a new element that can replace the palladium core; he successfully synthesizes it.

Cast

Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark / Iron Man, a billionaire who escaped captivity in Afghanistan with a suit of armor and now struggles to keep his technology from the government. Downey and Favreau conceived part of the film's story themselves. Downey said Stark's heroism is 'kind of heroic, but really kind of on his own behalf' and that Stark may have an imposter complex. Downey put on 20 pounds of muscle for the role.

Six-year-old Davin Ransom portrays Tony Stark as a child. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts, Stark's closest friend and business partner, who is promoted to CEO of Stark Industries. Paltrow said the promotion suits her character well and expressed excitement about working with Scarlett Johansson. Don Cheadle plays James 'Rhodey' Rhodes / War Machine, a U.S. Air Force officer and Stark's close friend who later operates the War Machine armor.

Cheadle replaced Terrence Howard from the first film, had only a few hours to accept the role, and did not know what storyline Rhodes would undergo. Cheadle said his suit weighed 50 lb of metal and that he could not touch his face while wearing it. He signed a six-picture deal. Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson also star.

Production

Jon Favreau originally intended to create a film trilogy for Iron Man, with Obadiah Stane becoming Iron Monger in sequels. After a meeting with comic book writers including Mark Millar, Stane became the main villain in Iron Man. Favreau decided the Mandarin was too fantastical for the first film, comparing him to the Emperor in Star Wars while Stane was like Darth Vader. Favreau said the film's version of Mandarin would allow incorporation of the whole pantheon of villains.

During development, Favreau said the film would explore Stark's alcoholism but not the 'Demon in a Bottle' version. Downey stated Stark would probably develop a drinking problem due to his age, the effects of revealing he is Iron Man, and Pepper getting a boyfriend. The storyline was downplayed because studio executives were concerned about marketing and merchandise sales.

Shane Black advised modeling Stark on J. Robert Oppenheimer, who became depressed after working on the Manhattan Project. An early version involved Justin Hammer creating villains like Ghost, but the idea was discarded. Filming took place from April to July 2009, mostly in California, with a key sequence filmed in Monaco. Unlike its predecessor, the sequel primarily relied on computer-generated imagery for the Iron Man suits.

Reception

Iron Man 2 pulled in $312.4 million domestically and $311.5 million overseas, adding up to $623.9 million worldwide. Production ran about $170 million, with another $150 million spent on marketing. Paramount took an 8% cut of the box office, and Disney got the rest. On its opening day in the U.S. and Canada, the film made $51 million, leading to a $128 million weekend—the fifth-best opening at the time, behind The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3, New Moon, and Dead Man's Chest.

It also scored the biggest 2010 opening and Paramount's highest ever. IMAX screenings brought in $9.8 million, a record for a 2D IMAX opening. Domestically, it ended up as the third-highest-grossing film of 2010, after Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland.

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a positive rating, with the consensus noting it wasn't as fresh as the first film but still delivered solid performances and action. Metacritic calculated a score of 57 out of 100 from 40 critics, meaning mixed or average reviews. While reviewers praised Robert Downey Jr.'s performance, they felt the sequel fell short of the original. Audiences, however, gave it an "A" grade on CinemaScore, matching the first film's score.