★★★★

 Rewatched 22 Apr, 2020

The last time I watched Iron Man 2, I was pretentious, I thought I was some ‘film connoisseur’ and to be honest, I had no idea what I was talking about. And maybe I still don’t but I don’t think Iron Man deserves the 2.5 stars I gave it last time for sure. Iron Man 2 is a blast! It is one of the most high-octane, fun, beautifully shot, directed and acted movies in the MCU. The amount of storylines they managed to fit in here while keeping this just short of 2 hrs (excluding credits) is incredible. The message that it’s trying to convey, while hard to interpret at times, is a powerful one. Maybe I just have a soft spot for Iron Man 2 because it was the last movie I watched in theatres in the US before moving to India. But there’s so much to love in this movie. First of all, Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer is delicious. His personality and wit is some of the best I’ve seen in an MCU villain. Whiplash is such a fun character and his backstory is pretty convincing. Let’s not forget that we get to know Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow in this movie. We also see a young Peter Parker. The Tony Stark palladium core storyline is genuinely compelling. And the daddy issues set up here haunt Tony for the rest of his MCU career. Iron Man 2 is a GOOD movie. It’s a fun, and incredible journey. It has its fair amount of flaws but that doesn’t take away from it at all. It adds to the viewing experience, if anything. If you haven’t watched this in a while go check it out, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!