1047. MCU 3: Iron Man 2 (2010)

This is still very high in my favorites from the MCU, and yet it’s commonly considered one of the biggest misfires, and I never understood how that’s even possible. With all due apologies to the first Iron Man, not only is it clear in Iron Man 2 that the MCU is definitely happening at this point, and is therefore the true birth of the MCU, it’s immensely enjoyable at every level, which I have never been able to say about Iron Man.

Part of that backlash is the result of Mickey Rourke’s casting as Whiplash. Rourke had just experienced a career revival in The Wrestler, and that big follow-up role was always going to receive an unusual amount of scrutiny. He opts for a character role in a superhero movie, which possibly subconsciously made some observers think back to the Schumacher villains from Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, but definitely not what his new admirers were expecting, and let’s face it, paired with Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer: Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But he’s great in the part, far better than William Hurt (who when he didn’t connect with the material always came off as bored to me, and that’s his Thaddeus Ross, for me), far more menacing than just about any other villain in a Marvel movie, MCU or otherwise…

Anyway, there’s also Rockwell, and I will always love me some Rockwell. He’s the only real counterpoint Robert Downey Jr. ever experiences in these movies. Guardians of the Galaxy later establishes the idea of literally chasing the same energy, but it’s Rockwell who nails it the way he does so effortlessly in all his performances.

Of course, it’s Scarlett Johansson who does all the heavy lifting for the impending MCU, and is also probably responsible for all the disinterest, since she’s a girl doing action things, and, well, that’s almost always cause for unnecessary concern from audiences (plus an expanded and more active role for Gwyneth Paltrow).

I wish they’d been interested in retaining Terrence Howard, not only because he’s perfect in the first movie, but because Don Cheadle replacing him as Jim Rhodes sabotaged Cheadle’s whole later career (whereas Howard got to do things like Empire). Before the MCU Cheadle was well on his way to having one of the most interesting careers in modern film, and afterward…It’s basically been only Jim Rhodes, who’s never had much of a part to play in these movies. It’s a terrible shame. 

The film itself is almost complete rehash of the first film, narratively, Tony Stark once again worrying about the implications of his company and his health, although I again think everything’s done better this time around. Samuel L. Jackson has his best showing to this point as Nick Fury, and in all the cameos, surely Elon Musk’s is the most interesting for later viewing, as he has literally been plowing through a real world Stark portfolio while gleefully embracing the same maverick persona. In short, as close to a true classic in the series as there’s ever been.