by Christopher Cassidy
I think that all I can say is that Iron Man 2 is among the best movies I have ever seen. To begin, Iron Man 2 has a spectacular plot. In the very beginning of the film, the US government tries to take Iron Man away from Tony Stark in the name of public security, but Tony resists, saying that any weapon like it is far from existence. The villain, a certain Ivan Vanko, is the son of Anton Vanko, a rival of Howard Stark in the development of the ‘arc generator’. Vanko builds his own arc-generator powered suit, and nearly kills Tony Stark with it in the beginning of the film. Tony scrambles into Iron Man and survives, but people’s comfort in the safety he brings becomes the leading conflict on the media. The arrival of Vanko’s weapon gets government pressure on Tony involved. Vanko then is sprung from jail by Hammer Industries, a shady rival of Stark. Justin Hammer, the CEO, hires Vanko to build suits for him, but is ultimately tricked by Vanko, who uses Hammer’s resources to build his own weapon. Vanko quickly builds a number of cheap drones, but is held by Hammer, as Hammer leaves to show off Vanko’s creations. To add to the suspense, Tony’s heart implant is hurting his body. SHEATH Department Director Nick Fury brings a new dimension to the film by offering Tony hidden information left by his father for him. This information could save Tony by making his chest-implanted arc-generator safe forever, and by perfecting the arc-generator technology. There is a great suspense scene as Tony works out how to fabricate a new element for the arc generator. Just as he solves the problem of his generator, a bigger one surfaces. Hammer is showing off Vanko’s robots at an expo. Vanko then hacks the drones and a Hammer-modified suit, (piloted by Stark’s friend Rhody) and uses them to try to destroy Iron Man. The climax comes as SHEATH operatives infiltrate the Hammer building and de-hack Rhody’s suit. SHEATH continues the fight for the building, as Stark and Rhody have one of the best climax battles I have ever seen. There’s an aerial chase/battle and a reasonably savory hero scene at the end, as Stark and Rhody fight off Vanko/Hammer’s drones and Vanko’s super-suit. To sum it up, the plot is sweet and complex, and the action is just the right length and intensity. The characters are well acted and are the best kinds of villains and mostly likeable heroes.
