Iron Man 2

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Bad Qualities

1. The main problem with the film is that it is overstuffed with too many storylines and characters, many of whom have the sole purpose of setting up The Avengers or could have worked out in at least 6 separate movies:
   1. The government wanting to get ahold of Tony's technology
   2. Tony's competitor Justin Hammer trying to replicate his technology
   3. Tony's sub-plot with his father, Howard Stark.
   4. Tony thinking about handing the company over to Pepper Potts and falling in love with her
   5. Ivan Vanko/Whiplash trying to kill Tony.
   6. Tony slowly being destroyed by his own Iron suit (via poisoned by the arc reactor in his chest).
2. Tony Stark is an unlikable douche most of the movie. While this is somewhat justified because he was freaking out about being slowly poisoned to death, it doesn't make him any less unlikable.
   1. His irresponsible and/or dangerous moments, such as replacing his pilot in a race, getting drunk while wearing one of his armors, and licking his poisoned blood, don't do any favors either.
3. In spite of the sympathetic backstory and talented actor, Whiplash was a very weak and underdeveloped villain, as he only wears the Whiplash suit twice, and he is defeated in less than three minutes. Mickey Rourke said that many scenes that developed the character were left to the cutting room, thanks to the infamous Marvel Creative Committee.
   1. For some reason, Whiplash was pretty much bare chest even with his suit on, and he somehow managed to survive being crushed by a car four times, a situation that would be absolutely lethal and could've have possibly killed him in real life.
4. Justin Hammer, on the other hand, was very annoying and extremely forgettable. He is depicted as a young billionaire who behaves in an over-the-top and exaggerated manner and whose only motivation is to rip off Tony Stark's Iron Man technology and sell it, instead of the elderly, cold-hearted and brilliant business and criminal mastermind from the comics.
5. The movie is very boring at times, since it focuses mostly on constant exposition with barely any time to breath from all the information being fed to you.
6. Pacing problems, with scenes such as Tony's "house arrest" taking too long to solve.
7. Pepper's role is greatly reduced to being just a bland love interest, after the great sibling-like banter between her and Tony in the previous film.
8. The final battle is basically the same as the one in the first movie with Iron Monger, only with War Machine to assist Tony instead of Pepper.

Redeeming Qualities

1. Just like in the previous film, they have a great supporting cast, with extended roles for Nick Fury and Rhodey (now played by Don Cheadle and becoming War Machine). In particular, the film introduces Black Widow, who is a likable character and plays a major role in future installments.
   • In fact, Mickey Rourke's performance as Ivan Vanko was impeccable.
2. Tony gets plenty of character development; in particular, the movie explores his strained relationship with his father Howard Stark.
3. The action is still pretty good, and the end fight was excellent as well.
4. The sequence in which Tony creates a new element is really well-done in terms of script, pacing and use in the story.
5. Great visual effects on par with the original, if not better.
6. Many effective comedic moments.
7. Howard Stark's statement was fantastic.
8. The cameo featuring Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, is kind of funny.

Reception

Alongside Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 2 is widely considered the weakest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and a major step backwards from the first Iron Man movie, despite receiving mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.