Iron Man 2 has been released in the Philippines a week before the US release due to the fight against movie piracy. Frankly, I think it's a great idea. That way, we Filipinos have something to claim we were first, haha.
*Warning: SPOILERS ahead*
But kidding aside, Iron Man 2 is the continuing story of Tony Stark's adventure, set 6 months after the events of the first movie. It's the time for the Stark Expo, and what better way to launch the expo by flying in from the sky in the Iron Man suit. As the movie progresses, we see that Tony Stark is summoned to a Senate hearing, where the US Senate is - to put it in words - demanding that the Iron Man suit be turned over to the US Government. Naturally, Stark refuses to let go of the suit, expressing that Iron Man and him are one and the same, arguing that how can you take one from the other. At the same time, Tony Stark makes his long-time secretary, Pepper Potts, as the CEO and Chairman of Stark Industries, thereby hiring Natasha Romanoff, a secret agent affiliated with SHIELD, as the new executive assistant.
We also see Tony Stark's new enemies -- business competitor Justin Hammer, who partnered with criminal physicist Ivan Vanko, known as Whiplash. Together, they create an army of drones, to be led by Tony's best friend James Rhodes, who outfits a power suit with all the weapons one can possibly think of, hence renaming the suit Warmachine.
In a side story arc, we can see how the palladium in the arc reactor that powers him is slowly beginning to poison his body. We see Tony be approached by the director of SHIELD, Nick Fury, and be given a chest full of notes and files of his late father, in an effort to find out a cure for his slow poison.
In the end, as always, the good guys win, and there's this thing called the "Avengers Initiative" -- which we all know is a teaser for another Marvel movie around 2012, revolving around the Avengers.
In my opinion, the sequel is either better than or didn't quite put up with the first movie. I would say that Iron Man 2 is leaning towards didn't quite put up with the first movie. Don't get me wrong, Iron Man 2 is a good entertaining movie, but I must admit I wanted to sleep halfway through the movie. It's like halfway through, you'd know what the whole story is about, and that the only thing you're waiting for are the explosions and the fight sequences. It has become predictable and frankly, quite boring.
If it weren't for the fact that I got the tickets for a fraction of the cost, thanks to a Citibank credit card promotion, I would've waited for a later showing than seeing the movie on the second day of release.
I guess the most memorable part was where Tony and Pepper finally admitted that they loved each other and were kissing -- when a little boy loudly expressed "EEEEEWWWWWW" in the theater, eliciting laughs from all moviegoers. That, my friends, is a classic.
The verdict: 3 and a half out of 5 stars
