MCU 2021 Marathon

MCU #3:

I enjoyed Iron Man 2 much more on this re-watch. It was definitely all over the place and too long, but you can see how it subtly sets up the best of the series, Iron Man 3.

And whoever is in charge of casting at this point forward in the MCU should get an Oscar.

Robert Downey Jr. is again excellent, flipping from the entitled sarcastic playboy to the brooding dude with daddy issues to the manic inventor and boy-genius.

Mickey Rourke oozes Russian bad-boy masculinity as the villain. His scenes in the first act are excellent.

And then there's of course the introduction of Scarlet Johanssen as Natasha/Black Widow. Damn if she doesn't suck up all the air in every single scene she's in as she insinuates herself into Stark's inner circle. She morphs from Tony's "siren" (Stark's a better man than I would likely be in a similar circumstance) to a bad-ass MMA fighter.

It actually calls out the absurdity of not spinning off a Black Widow off earlier. This was clearly pre-Me Too, but shameful nonetheless.

The special effects are again excellent. The first big fight scene at the Monaco 500 scene and the suited up fist fight between Iron Man and Rhodes/War Machine are epic.

"Sir! I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the doughnut."