Tuesday, March 12, 2013
CERITA IRON MAN 3
Iron Man 3 is an upcoming American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.1 It will be the sequel to Iron Man and Iron Man 2, and the seventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being the first major release in the franchise since the crossover film The Avengers. Shane Black is set to direct a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce, which will be based on the "Extremis" story arc by Warren Ellis. Jon Favreau, who directed the first two films, serves as executive producer, along with Kevin Feige.[4] Robert Downey, Jr. reprises his role as the title character, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and Favreau reprising their roles as Pepper Potts, James Rhodes, and Happy Hogan, respectively. Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, and Ben Kingsley round out the film's principal cast.
After the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010, Favreau decided not to return as director, and in February 2011 Black was hired to rewrite and direct the film. Throughout April and May of 2012, the film's supporting cast was filled out, with Kingsley, Pearce, and Hall brought in to portray key roles. Filming began on May 23, 2012 in Wilmington, North Carolina. The film was shot primarily in North Carolina, with additional shooting in Florida, China and Los Angeles. The film's visual effects will be handled by a number of companies, including Scanline VFX, Digital Domain, and Weta Digital.
Iron Man 3 will be converted to 3D in post-production,[5] and it is scheduled to be released internationally on April 25, 2013 in IMAX[6] and May 3, 2013 in the United States.
Following the release of Iron Man 2, a conflict between Paramount Pictures, which had distribution rights to certain Marvel properties, and The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Entertainment's new corporate parent, clouded the timing and the distribution arrangement of a possible third film.[36] On October 18, 2010, Walt Disney Studios agreed to pay Paramount at least $115 million for the worldwide distribution rights to Iron Man 3 and The Avengers.[37] Disney, Marvel, and Paramount announced a May 3, 2013 release date for Iron Man 3.[38]
Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau said in December 2010 that he would not direct Iron Man 3, opting to direct Magic Kingdom instead. He remained an executive producer of director Joss Whedon's crossover film The Avengers and will also serve as an executive producer of Iron Man 3.[4][39] In February 2011 Shane Black entered final negotiations to direct[40] and write the screenplay,[41] and in March Drew Pearce was hired to co-write the screenplay.[42] Black described his take on the film as not being "two men in iron suits fighting each other", and more like a "Tom Clancy thriller", with Iron Man fighting real world type villains.[41] Downey, who had previously starred in Black's film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, said, "Bringing in Shane Black to write and direct Iron Man 3 to me is basically the only transition from Favreau to a 'next thing' that Favreau and the audience and Marvel and I could ever actually sign off on."[8]
The next week, Guy Pearce entered into final talks to play Aldrich Killian, a character who is featured in the "Extremis" comic book story arc.[13] Chinese star Andy Lau became involved in negotiations to join the film, as a Chinese scientist and old friend of Tony Stark's who comes to his aid.[47] Jessica Chastain entered into discussions for a role in the film[48] but bowed out due to scheduling conflicts.[15] In May, Rebecca Hall was cast in her place,[15] and her role was described as "a scientist who plays a pivotal role in the creation of a nanotechnology, known as Extremis".[16] Over the next few weeks, James Badge Dale was cast as the villain Eric Savin,[18] Ashley Hamilton was cast as the armored villain Firepower,[28] and Jon Favreau was set to reprise his role as Happy Hogan from the first two films.[21] William Sadler was also cast in the film, as the President of the United States.[31] Despite erroneous early reports that Cobie Smulders would reprise her role as Maria Hill from The Avengers in the film,[49] Smulders wrote on her verified Twitter page that this was not so.[50] Scarlett Johansson also dismissed rumors she would reprise her role as Black Widow in the film.[51]
From July 19 to August 1 filming took place on Oak Island, North Carolina, to "film aerial drops over the Atlantic Ocean".[59] In late July, it was reported that Stephanie Szostak had been cast in the film.[35] Filming took place in Rose Hill, North Carolina in early August 2012.[60] On August 14, actress Dale Dickey said she had been cast in the film, and was currently shooting her scenes.[61] On August 15, production was halted when Robert Downey, Jr. suffered an ankle injury.[62] Shooting had resumed by August 24.[63] In early September, it was reported that Wang Xueqi had been cast for a role for which Lau had initially been cast.[30]
Cast and crew began arriving in Florida on October 1, to shoot scenes on Dania Beach and around South Florida.[64] That same day, Robert Downey Jr. returned to the set after his ankle injury.[65] In early October, scenes were shot at a replica of the Malibu restaurant Neptune's Net,[66] and filming took place on location at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.[67] Scenes were shot during the daytime inside the Miami Beach Resort at Miami Beach on October 10 and 11.[68] The production returned to Wilmington in mid-October for additional filming.[69] On November 1, scenes were shot at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens[70] and at an abandoned cement factory made up as an Afghanistan village market.[71] Filming in the United States wrapped on November 7 in Wilmington.[72]
Filming began in Beijing, China on December 10. Filming was scheduled to wrap a week later on December 17, 2012.[29] The China filming did not include the main cast and crew.[72] In January 2013, it was reported that a film crew led by Shane Black would begin location scouting in Hyderabad, India and Bengaluru, India between January 20 and 24.[73] Also in January, Don Cheadle confirmed that reshooting was taking place in Manhattan Beach.[74] Shooting also took place on the week of January 23, 2013 at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.[75]
After the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010, Favreau decided not to return as director, and in February 2011 Black was hired to rewrite and direct the film. Throughout April and May of 2012, the film's supporting cast was filled out, with Kingsley, Pearce, and Hall brought in to portray key roles. Filming began on May 23, 2012 in Wilmington, North Carolina. The film was shot primarily in North Carolina, with additional shooting in Florida, China and Los Angeles. The film's visual effects will be handled by a number of companies, including Scanline VFX, Digital Domain, and Weta Digital.
Iron Man 3 will be converted to 3D in post-production,[5] and it is scheduled to be released internationally on April 25, 2013 in IMAX[6] and May 3, 2013 in the United States.
Contents |
Premise
Tony Stark faces a powerful enemy, the Mandarin, when he embarks on a quest to find those responsible for destroying his private world. Along the way, he discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: "Does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?"[7]Cast
- A self-described genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist who escaped captivity with a suit of armor he created and now struggles to keep his technology in the right hands.[1] On making a third Iron Man film, Downey said, "My sense of it is that we need to leave it all on the field — whatever that means in the end. You can pick several different points of departure for that."[8] On following up The Avengers, Downey said they "tried to be practical, in a post-Avengers world. What are his challenges now? What are some limitations that might be placed on him? And what sort of threat would have him, as usual, ignore those limitations?"[9]
- Stark's girlfriend, longtime associate, and personal assistant.[1] Paltrow says of her character's relationship to Tony, “[She still] adores Tony, but she absolutely gets fed up with him. He gets caught in a feedback loop.”[10]
- Stark's best friend, the liaison between Stark Industries and the U.S. Air Force in the department of acquisitions and the operator of the War Machine armor.[1] Rhodes' armor is redesigned/upgraded and will take on an American flag-inspired color scheme in the film, similar to the Iron Patriot armor from the comics.[11] Kevin Feige said of Rhodes and the armor, "The notion in the movie is that a red, white and blue suit is a bold statement, and it’s meant to be. With Rhodey, he’s very much the foil to Tony’s eccentricities, and in this one you get to see this and be reminded of the trust and friendship between them in that great Shane Black buddy-cop fashion."[12]
- The creator of the Extremis virus.[13] On why he took the role, Pearce said, "I feel a little more experimental in what I'll take on these days, but I still don't know that I would want to play the superhero myself, since I'm playing a different kind of character in this film... The main difference was that, when I did The Time Machine, I was pretty much in all of it, so it was a really grueling experience. Prometheus and Iron Man are really kind of cameo stuff, so the experience of shooting them... I mean, on some level, it's tricky because you feel like a bit of an outsider. You don’t really live the experience that you do when you're there all day every day with everybody. But at the same time, it can be more fun sometimes because you're just working in concentrated spurts."[14]
- Rebecca Hall as Dr. Maya Hansen:
- One of the Extremis creators.[15][16] Hall confirmed that Hansen would be a "strong female character," and described her decision to take the role, saying, "I decided to do Iron Man 3 because I've never done the 'hurry up and wait' movie before. Even the studio movies I've done have been small studio movies, or indie films that we made on a wing and a prayer. I love those, but Iron Man is refreshing in a way because it's something out of my realm of experiences."[17]
- Dale stated that his character in the film was "loosely based on" the comic version of the character.[18][19] According to Dale, "Ben Kingsley is the mouthpiece. Guy Pearce is the brain. I’m the muscle.”[20]
- Tony Stark's bodyguard and chauffeur.[21] Favreau, who served as both actor and director on the previous two Iron Man films, described his new role on the film, saying he was "like a proud grandfather who doesn't have to change the diapers but gets to play with the baby."[22]
- Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin:
- The leader of an international terrorist organization.[23][24] Kingsley was filming Ender's Game when he was cast, and said that, "Quite soon I'll be with everybody and we'll be discussing the look and the feel and the direction of the character. It's very early days yet, but I'm so thrilled to be on board."[25] The Mandarin was initially set to appear in the first Iron Man film, but he was put off for a sequel as the filmmakers felt that he was "too ambitious for a first [film]".[26] Of the character, Kevin Feige stated, "The Mandarin is [Iron Man's] most famous foe in the comics mainly because he’s been around the longest. If you look, there’s not necessarily a definitive Mandarin storyline in the comics. So it was really about having an idea."[12] Shane Black explains that the Mandarin is not Chinese in the film as he is in the comics in order to avoid the Fu Manchu stereotype: “We’re not saying he’s Chinese, we’re saying he, in fact, draws a cloak around him of Chinese symbols and dragons because it represents his obsessions with Sun Tzu in various ancient arts of warfare that he studied.”[27]
Production
Development
"Truthfully, the way to go about doing a part 3, if you’re ever in
that position, as I’m lucky enough to be, is to find a way that the
first two weren’t done yet. You have to find a way to make sure that the
story that’s emerging is still ongoing and, by the time you’ve finished
3, will be something resembling the culmination of a trilogy. It’s
about, 'How has the story not yet been completely told?,' and I think
we’re getting there. I think we’ve really found ways to make this feel
organic and new, based on what’s come before, and that’s what I’m happy
about."
—Shane Black, director of Iron Man 3, on the film.[9]
Iron Man and Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau said in December 2010 that he would not direct Iron Man 3, opting to direct Magic Kingdom instead. He remained an executive producer of director Joss Whedon's crossover film The Avengers and will also serve as an executive producer of Iron Man 3.[4][39] In February 2011 Shane Black entered final negotiations to direct[40] and write the screenplay,[41] and in March Drew Pearce was hired to co-write the screenplay.[42] Black described his take on the film as not being "two men in iron suits fighting each other", and more like a "Tom Clancy thriller", with Iron Man fighting real world type villains.[41] Downey, who had previously starred in Black's film Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, said, "Bringing in Shane Black to write and direct Iron Man 3 to me is basically the only transition from Favreau to a 'next thing' that Favreau and the audience and Marvel and I could ever actually sign off on."[8]
Pre-production
In September 2011, Marvel Studios reached an agreement to shoot the film primarily out of EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina. Michigan was also in contention to land the production, but the Michigan Film Office could not match North Carolina's tax incentives.[43] In April 2012, Ben Kingsley entered into negotiations to play a villain in Iron Man 3.[23] The film's fake working title was revealed to be Caged Heat, and Marvel Studios worked with the Tona B. Dahlquist Casting company to hire extras in the North Carolina area.[44] The following week, producer Kevin Feige revealed that Iron Man 3 would begin shooting in North Carolina "in five weeks", and said that it "is a full-on Tony Stark-centric movie ... very much inspired by the first half of Iron Man ... [H]e’s stripped of everything, he’s backed up against a wall, and he’s gotta use his intelligence to get out of it. He can’t call Thor, he can’t call Cap, he can’t call Nick Fury, and he can’t look for the Helicarrier in the sky."[45] A few days later, The Walt Disney Company China, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment announced an agreement to co-produce Iron Man 3 in China. DMG will partly finance, produce in China with Marvel, and handle co-production matters. DMG will also distribute the film in China in tandem with Disney.[46]The next week, Guy Pearce entered into final talks to play Aldrich Killian, a character who is featured in the "Extremis" comic book story arc.[13] Chinese star Andy Lau became involved in negotiations to join the film, as a Chinese scientist and old friend of Tony Stark's who comes to his aid.[47] Jessica Chastain entered into discussions for a role in the film[48] but bowed out due to scheduling conflicts.[15] In May, Rebecca Hall was cast in her place,[15] and her role was described as "a scientist who plays a pivotal role in the creation of a nanotechnology, known as Extremis".[16] Over the next few weeks, James Badge Dale was cast as the villain Eric Savin,[18] Ashley Hamilton was cast as the armored villain Firepower,[28] and Jon Favreau was set to reprise his role as Happy Hogan from the first two films.[21] William Sadler was also cast in the film, as the President of the United States.[31] Despite erroneous early reports that Cobie Smulders would reprise her role as Maria Hill from The Avengers in the film,[49] Smulders wrote on her verified Twitter page that this was not so.[50] Scarlett Johansson also dismissed rumors she would reprise her role as Black Widow in the film.[51]
Filming
Filming began in Wilmington, North Carolina on May 23, 2012 at EUE/Screen Gems Studios. From June 4 through June 6, filming took place in Cary, North Carolina at the Epic Games headquarters,[52] with a large Christmas tree set up on the front lawn.[53] A scene was also shot at the Wilmington International Airport.[54] On set photos in North Carolina featured an actor wearing armor similar to the "Iron Patriot" suit from the comics.[55] It was later reported to be the War Machine armor painted in red, white and blue.[11] Another picture appeared online showing a building with a sign saying AIM, Advanced Idea Mechanics.[56] In late June it was reported that the large water tank in the EUE/Screen Gems Studios was being used to film a scene in which Stark's Malibu mansion would be destroyed and fall into the ocean.[57] It was also reported that Andy Lau had turned down the role he was negotiating to play, due to the birth of his first child on May 9. With Lau out, other actors in consideration for the role included Chen Daoming and Wu Xiubo. Chinese actresses reportedly contacted for separate roles included Yao Chen and Fan Bingbing.[58]From July 19 to August 1 filming took place on Oak Island, North Carolina, to "film aerial drops over the Atlantic Ocean".[59] In late July, it was reported that Stephanie Szostak had been cast in the film.[35] Filming took place in Rose Hill, North Carolina in early August 2012.[60] On August 14, actress Dale Dickey said she had been cast in the film, and was currently shooting her scenes.[61] On August 15, production was halted when Robert Downey, Jr. suffered an ankle injury.[62] Shooting had resumed by August 24.[63] In early September, it was reported that Wang Xueqi had been cast for a role for which Lau had initially been cast.[30]
Cast and crew began arriving in Florida on October 1, to shoot scenes on Dania Beach and around South Florida.[64] That same day, Robert Downey Jr. returned to the set after his ankle injury.[65] In early October, scenes were shot at a replica of the Malibu restaurant Neptune's Net,[66] and filming took place on location at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.[67] Scenes were shot during the daytime inside the Miami Beach Resort at Miami Beach on October 10 and 11.[68] The production returned to Wilmington in mid-October for additional filming.[69] On November 1, scenes were shot at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens[70] and at an abandoned cement factory made up as an Afghanistan village market.[71] Filming in the United States wrapped on November 7 in Wilmington.[72]
Filming began in Beijing, China on December 10. Filming was scheduled to wrap a week later on December 17, 2012.[29] The China filming did not include the main cast and crew.[72] In January 2013, it was reported that a film crew led by Shane Black would begin location scouting in Hyderabad, India and Bengaluru, India between January 20 and 24.[73] Also in January, Don Cheadle confirmed that reshooting was taking place in Manhattan Beach.[74] Shooting also took place on the week of January 23, 2013 at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.[75]
Post-production
Unlike the first two Iron Man films, Industrial Light and Magic is not involved with the film's visual effects. Instead, Scanline VFX, Digital Domain, Weta Digital, The Third Floor, and Trixter Film will work on the visual effects for Iron Man 3.[76]Music
In October 2012, Brian Tyler signed on to score the film.[77] The score is being recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios utilizing the recent Dolby Atmos recording technology.[citation needed] Tyler is the third primary composer to score an Iron Man film, following Ramin Djawadi of Iron Man and John Debney of Iron Man 2.Release
Iron Man 3 will be distributed worldwide by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures1 with the exception of China, where it will be released by DMG Entertainment, and Germany and Austria, where it will be released by Tele München Group.[46]Marketing
In July 2012, at the San Diego Comic-Con International, a new Iron Man armor from the movie was on display on the convention floor, along with the seven armors from the first two Iron Man movies and The Avengers.[78] A panel was held, during which Shane Black, Robert Downey, Jr., Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige discussed making the film, and several minutes of footage from the movie were shown.[22]Future
According to director Shane Black, Robert Downey, Jr.'s contract with Marvel Studios, which expires after the release of Iron Man 3, may extend in order for the actor to appear in a second Avengers film and at least one more Iron Man film. He said: "There has been a lot of discussion about it: 'Is this the last Iron Man for Robert [Downey, Jr.]?' Something tells me that it will not be the case, and [he] will be seen in a fourth, or fifth." Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has said that the character of Tony Stark will continue to be featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe regardless of Downey's involvement.[79] Reports also indicate that Downey may appear as Stark in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy film in 2014.[80] Downey has since said he is open to extending his contract, stating he feels "there's a couple other things we've gotta do" with his character.CERITA IRON MAN 2
Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man, the second piece in a planned trilogy,[6] and is the third film released as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon Favreau and written by Justin Theroux, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke. Set six months after the events of Iron Man,
Tony Stark has revealed his identity as Iron Man and is resisting calls
by the United States government to hand over the technology. Ivan Vanko, meanwhile, has developed the same technology and built weapons of his own.
Following the successful release of Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel Studios announced and immediately set to work on producing a sequel. In July of that same year Theroux was hired to write the script, and Favreau was signed to return and direct. Downey and Paltrow were to reprise their roles from Iron Man, while Cheadle was brought in to replace Terrence Howard in the role of James Rhodes. In the early months of 2009, Rourke, Rockwell and Johansson filled out the supporting cast, and the film went into production that summer. Like its predecessor the film was shot mostly in California, except for a key sequence in Monaco.
Iron Man 2 premiered in Los Angeles, California on April 26, 2010, and was released in 54 countries between April 28 and 30 before going into general release in the U.S. on May 7, 2010. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $623.9 million at the worldwide box office. The DVD and Blu-ray were released on September 28, 2010. The third installment of the Iron Man trilogy, Iron Man 3, is set for release on May 3, 2013.
Six months later, Stark has used his armor to help maintain world peace. He re-institutes the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadows to continue his father Howard's legacy. Senator Stern demands that Stark turn over the Iron Man technology to the government. Stark refuses, claiming that foreign nations and business competitors are decades away from recreating his work, and that it is his property.
The palladium core in the arc reactor that keeps Stark alive and powers the armor is slowly poisoning him, and he has failed to find a substitute. Growing increasingly despondent and reckless due to his impending death, and choosing not to tell anyone about his condition, Stark appoints his personal assistant Pepper Potts CEO of Stark Industries, and replaces her with Stark employee Natalie Rushman.
While Stark is racing at the Circuit de Monaco, he is attacked by Vanko, who uses his arc reactor to power whip-like energy weapons. Stark defeats Vanko with the aid of his portable briefcase armor, and learns that Vanko is the son of his father's old partner, Anton Vanko, who had collaborated with Howard on the first arc reactor. Anton was deported to his native Soviet Union following attempts to profit from the technology and died in poverty, explaining Vanko's desire for revenge on the Stark family. Rival defense contractor Justin Hammer fakes Vanko's death and recruits him to perfect a line of armored suits to upstage Stark. Hammer, who equals Stark on narcissism and arrogance, wishes to not only defeat his rival in military contracts, but also wishes to absolutely destroy his legacy.
At what he believes is his final birthday party, Stark gets drunk while using the Iron Man armor, forcing his friend, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, to intervene. Rhodes dons Stark's Mark II armor and battles Stark. The battle ends when the combatants both fire repulsor beams at each other, creating a huge explosion. After fighting with Stark, Rhodes delivers the armor to the U.S. military. Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director, approaches Stark, revealing Rushman as undercover agent Natasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder whom Fury knew personally. Fury gives him some of his father's old material; a hidden message in the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo proves to be a diagram of the structure of a new element. With the aid of his computer J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark synthesizes it. Vanko reveals to Stark that he is still alive and seeking revenge so Stark uses the untested element, ending his palladium dependency.
At the Expo, Hammer unveils Vanko's armored drones, led by Rhodes in a heavily weaponized version of the Mark II armor. Stark arrives in his new armor to warn Rhodes, but Vanko seizes control of both the drones and Rhodes' armor and attacks Iron Man. Hammer is arrested while Romanoff and Stark's bodyguard Happy Hogan attempt to capture Vanko. He escapes, but Romanoff returns control of the Mark II armor to Rhodes.
After defeating his drones Stark and Rhodes confront Vanko himself, now in a new and powerful suit of armor. Neither can match Vanko, but Vanko is ultimately defeated when they fire repulsor rays at each other, causing a large explosion. With his suit too damaged to continue the fight Vanko activates his suit's self-destruct mechanism, along with that of his drones, apparently killing himself in the process. Stark saves Potts from the exploding drones' remains. Potts quits as CEO, and she and Stark kiss.
At a debriefing, while news footage of a rampaging Hulk plays, Fury informs Stark that while Iron Man is a suitable candidate for the "Avengers Initiative", he himself is not. Stark agrees to serve as a consultant if Senator Stern acts as presenter at a ceremony planned for awarding Stark and Rhodes with medals for bravery, which Stern reluctantly does.
In a post-credits scene, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson reports the discovery of a large hammer at the bottom of a crater in a desert in New Mexico.
Additionally, news anchor Christiane Amanpour[41] and political commentator Bill O'Reilly[42] play themselves in newscasts. Adam Goldstein appears as himself and the film is dedicated to his memory.[43] Further cameos include Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison.[44] Tanoai Reed from American Gladiators appears as a security guard.
Jon Favreau meeting with members of the U.S. Air Force while filming at Edwards Air Force Base.
Jon Favreau said it was originally his intent to create a film trilogy for Iron Man,[6] with Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) becoming Iron Monger during the sequels. After a meeting between Favreau and various comic book writers, including Mark Millar, Stane became the main villain in Iron Man. Millar argued the Mandarin, whom Favreau originally intended to fill that role, was too fantastical.[45] Favreau concurred, deciding, "I look at Mandarin more like how in Star Wars you had the Emperor, but Darth Vader
is the guy you want to see fight. Then you work your way to the time
when lightning bolts are shooting out of the fingers and all that stuff
could happen. But you can't have what happened in Return of the Jedi happen in A New Hope. You just can't do it."[46]
Favreau also discussed in interviews how the films' version of Mandarin
"allows us to incorporate the whole pantheon of villains". He mentioned
that S.H.I.E.L.D. will continue to have a major role.[47]
During development, Favreau said the film would explore Stark's alcoholism, but it would not be "the 'Demon in a Bottle' version".[47] While promoting the first film, Downey stated that Stark would probably develop a drinking problem as he is unable to cope with his age, the effects of revealing he is Iron Man, and Pepper getting a boyfriend.[48] Downey later clarified that the film was not a strict adaptation of the '"Demon in a Bottle" storyline from the comic book series, but was instead about the "interim space" between the origin and the "Demon" story arc.[49] Shane Black gave some advice on the script, and suggested to Favreau and Downey that they model Stark on J. Robert Oppenheimer, who became depressed with being "the destroyer of worlds" after working on the Manhattan Project.[48]
In October 2008, Marvel Studios came to an agreement to film Iron Man 2, as well as their next three films, at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach, California.[55] A few days later, Don Cheadle was hired to replace Terrence Howard.[14] On being replaced, Howard stated, "There was no explanation, apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes. Promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."[56] Entertainment Weekly stated Favreau did not enjoy working with Howard, often re-shooting and cutting his scenes; Howard's publicist said he had a good experience playing the part, while Marvel chose not to comment. As Favreau and Theroux chose to reduce the role, Marvel came to Howard to discuss lowering his salary – Howard was the first actor hired in Iron Man and was paid the largest salary. The publication stated they were unsure whether Howard's representatives left the project first or if Marvel chose to stop negotiating.[57] Theroux denied the part of the report which claimed the size of the role had fluctuated.[53]
In January 2009, Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell entered negotiations to play a pair of villains.[58] A few days later Rockwell confirmed he would take the role, and that his character would be Justin Hammer.[21] Paul Bettany confirmed that he would be returning to voice JARVIS.[37] Marvel entered into early talks with Emily Blunt to play the Black Widow,[59] though she was unable to take the role due to a previous commitment to star in Gulliver's Travels.[60] Samuel L. Jackson confirmed that he had been in discussions to reprise the role of Nick Fury from the first film's post-credits scene, but that contract disputes were making a deal difficult. Jackson claimed that "There was a huge kind of negotiation that broke down. I don’t know. Maybe I won’t be Nick Fury."[61]
In February, Jackson and Marvel came to terms, and he was signed to play the character in up to nine films.[30] Downey and Rourke discussed his part during a roundtable discussion with David Ansen at the 2009 Golden Globes, and Rourke met with Favreau and Theroux to discuss the role. Rourke almost dropped out due to Marvel's initial salary offer of $250,000, but the studio raised the offer, and in March Rourke signed on.[62] Later that same day Scarlett Johansson signed on to play the Black Widow. Her deal included options for multiple films, including potentially The Avengers.[63] In April, Garry Shandling,[36] Clark Gregg,[33] and Kate Mara[33] joined the cast.
A massive green screen was constructed at the Sepulveda Dam
to film a portion of the Stark Expo exterior, with the rest either shot
at an area high school or added digitally. To construct the green
screen, hundreds of shipping containers were stacked, covered in plywood
and plaster, and then painted green.[67]
For the conclusion of that climactic scene, which the crew dubbed the
"Japanese Garden" scene, a set was built inside Sony Studios in Los
Angeles.[67]
Principal photography lasted 71 days, and the film's production officially wrapped on July 18, 2009.[64] A post-credits scene depicting the discovery of a large hammer was filmed on the set of Thor, and some of it was reused in the film.[43] Jon Favreau revealed that the scene was filmed with anamorphic lenses to match Thor.[43]
Robert Downey, Jr. and Don Cheadle in their suits, before and after ILM's CGI enhancements.
Janek Sirrs was the film's visual effects supervisor,[73] and Industrial Light & Magic again did the bulk of the effects, as it did on the first film.[74]
ILM's visual effects supervisor on the film, Ben Snow, said their work
on the film was "harder" than their work on the first, stating that
Favreau asked more of them this time around. Snow described the process
of digitally creating the suits:
In January 2010, IMAX Corporation, Marvel Entertainment and Paramount Pictures announced that the film would receive a limited release on digital IMAX screens.[78] It was not shot with IMAX cameras, so it was converted into the format using the IMAX DMR technology.[54][78] The film underwent reshoots in February.[79] Olivia Munn's original role was cut, but she was given a new role during the reshoots.[39]
The film score was released commercially as Iron Man 2: Original Motion Picture Score on July 20, 2010, featuring 25 songs. John Debney composed the score with Tom Morello.[82]
Cast of Iron Man 2 at Comic Con 2009. Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell.
At the 2009 San Diego Comic Con,
a five-minute trailer for the movie was shown. Actors portraying Stark
Industries recruiters handed out business cards with an invitation to
apply.[83]
A website for Stark Industries went online, with an attached graphic of
a "napkin memo" from Stark to Potts announcing that Stark Industries no
longer made weapons. Another section featured an online application.[84] It was confirmed that the first theatrical trailer would premiere in front of Sherlock Holmes
(another Robert Downey, Jr. film). This trailer was released online on
December 16, 2009. A new trailer was shown by Robert Downey, Jr. on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 7 after the Academy Awards.[85] Promotional partners included Symantec, Dr Pepper, Burger King, 7 Eleven, Audi, LG Electronics[86] and Hershey.[87]
Author Alexander C. Irvine adapted the script into a novel, also titled Iron Man 2, that was released in April 2010.[88] Prior to the film release, Marvel Comics released a four issue miniseries comic book titled Iron Man vs Whiplash, which introduced the film's version of Whiplash into the Marvel Universe.[89] A three issue prequel miniseries titled Iron Man 2: Public Identity was released in April.[90][91][92]
The Wii version was developed by High Voltage Software and all console versions were published by Sega,[95] while Gameloft published the mobile game.[96] Cheadle and Jackson voice their respective characters in the games.[97] The trailer revealed that A.I.M, Roxxon Energy Corporation, and Ultimo (depicted as a man named Kearson DeWitt in a large armor) are enemies in the game as well as reveal that the wearer of the Crimson Dynamo armor is General Valentin Shatalov.[98] The game received generally unfavorable reviews, with a Metacritic score of 41% for both the PS3[99] and Xbox 360[100] versions.
The film is also scheduled to be collected in a 10-disc box set titled Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled which will include all of the "Phase One" films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[104] However, in September 2012, the release of the box set, which was scheduled on the same day as the Blu-ray release of The Avengers, was delayed until Q1 2013, due to a pending law suit over the suitcase used to package the collection.[105]
The film grossed $128,122,480 in its opening weekend in the United States at 4,380 theaters, the fifth-highest opening weekend ever, at the time, behind The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It also had the highest opening for a 2010 movie.[109] The film yielded an average of $29,252 per theater. It grossed $51,239,677 on opening day and became the eleventh highest opening day on record.[110] Iron Man 2 generated $9.8 million from 181 IMAX venues. That was the highest opening weekend for a 2D IMAX film, surpassing Star Trek's previous record of $8.5 million.[109]
Iron Man 2 closed in theaters on August 19, 2010. It grossed $312,433,331 in the United States and Canada, as well as $311,500,000 in other markets, giving the film a worldwide total of $623,933,331.[4] Iron Man 2 was the third-highest grossing film of 2010 in the United States and Canada, behind Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland.[111] It was also seventh-highest grossing film of 2010 internationally, behind Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Inception, Shrek Forever After, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.[112]
Positive reviewers include Brian Lowry of Variety who stated, "Iron Man 2 isn't as much fun as its predecessor, but by the time the smoke clears, it'll do".[42] Anthony Lane of The New Yorker said, "To find a comic-book hero who doesn't agonize over his supergifts, and would defend his constitutional right to get a kick out of them, is frankly a relief".[115] David Edelstein of New York Magazine wrote, "It doesn't come close to the emotional heft of those two rare 2s that outclassed their ones: Superman II and Spider-Man 2. But Iron Man 2 hums along quite nicely".[116] Roger Ebert gave it 3 stars out of 4, stating that "Iron Man 2 is a polished, high-octane sequel, not as good as the original but building once again on a quirky performance by Robert Downey Jr".[117] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International, a one-time Marvel Comics writer, said that, "In a refreshing and unexpected turn, the sequel to Iron Man doesn't find a changed man. Inside the metal, imperfect humanity grows even more so, as thought-provoking questions of identity meet techno-fantasy made flesh."[118]
Critics of the film include Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter, who stated, "Everything fun and terrific about Iron Man, a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, Iron Man 2 has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines."
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Following the successful release of Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel Studios announced and immediately set to work on producing a sequel. In July of that same year Theroux was hired to write the script, and Favreau was signed to return and direct. Downey and Paltrow were to reprise their roles from Iron Man, while Cheadle was brought in to replace Terrence Howard in the role of James Rhodes. In the early months of 2009, Rourke, Rockwell and Johansson filled out the supporting cast, and the film went into production that summer. Like its predecessor the film was shot mostly in California, except for a key sequence in Monaco.
Iron Man 2 premiered in Los Angeles, California on April 26, 2010, and was released in 54 countries between April 28 and 30 before going into general release in the U.S. on May 7, 2010. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $623.9 million at the worldwide box office. The DVD and Blu-ray were released on September 28, 2010. The third installment of the Iron Man trilogy, Iron Man 3, is set for release on May 3, 2013.
Contents |
Plot
In Russia, the news media covers Tony Stark's disclosure of his identity as Iron Man. Ivan Vanko, whose father Anton Vanko has just died, sees this and begins building an arc reactor similar to Stark's.Six months later, Stark has used his armor to help maintain world peace. He re-institutes the Stark Expo in Flushing Meadows to continue his father Howard's legacy. Senator Stern demands that Stark turn over the Iron Man technology to the government. Stark refuses, claiming that foreign nations and business competitors are decades away from recreating his work, and that it is his property.
The palladium core in the arc reactor that keeps Stark alive and powers the armor is slowly poisoning him, and he has failed to find a substitute. Growing increasingly despondent and reckless due to his impending death, and choosing not to tell anyone about his condition, Stark appoints his personal assistant Pepper Potts CEO of Stark Industries, and replaces her with Stark employee Natalie Rushman.
While Stark is racing at the Circuit de Monaco, he is attacked by Vanko, who uses his arc reactor to power whip-like energy weapons. Stark defeats Vanko with the aid of his portable briefcase armor, and learns that Vanko is the son of his father's old partner, Anton Vanko, who had collaborated with Howard on the first arc reactor. Anton was deported to his native Soviet Union following attempts to profit from the technology and died in poverty, explaining Vanko's desire for revenge on the Stark family. Rival defense contractor Justin Hammer fakes Vanko's death and recruits him to perfect a line of armored suits to upstage Stark. Hammer, who equals Stark on narcissism and arrogance, wishes to not only defeat his rival in military contracts, but also wishes to absolutely destroy his legacy.
At what he believes is his final birthday party, Stark gets drunk while using the Iron Man armor, forcing his friend, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, to intervene. Rhodes dons Stark's Mark II armor and battles Stark. The battle ends when the combatants both fire repulsor beams at each other, creating a huge explosion. After fighting with Stark, Rhodes delivers the armor to the U.S. military. Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director, approaches Stark, revealing Rushman as undercover agent Natasha Romanoff and that Howard Stark was a S.H.I.E.L.D. founder whom Fury knew personally. Fury gives him some of his father's old material; a hidden message in the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo proves to be a diagram of the structure of a new element. With the aid of his computer J.A.R.V.I.S., Stark synthesizes it. Vanko reveals to Stark that he is still alive and seeking revenge so Stark uses the untested element, ending his palladium dependency.
At the Expo, Hammer unveils Vanko's armored drones, led by Rhodes in a heavily weaponized version of the Mark II armor. Stark arrives in his new armor to warn Rhodes, but Vanko seizes control of both the drones and Rhodes' armor and attacks Iron Man. Hammer is arrested while Romanoff and Stark's bodyguard Happy Hogan attempt to capture Vanko. He escapes, but Romanoff returns control of the Mark II armor to Rhodes.
After defeating his drones Stark and Rhodes confront Vanko himself, now in a new and powerful suit of armor. Neither can match Vanko, but Vanko is ultimately defeated when they fire repulsor rays at each other, causing a large explosion. With his suit too damaged to continue the fight Vanko activates his suit's self-destruct mechanism, along with that of his drones, apparently killing himself in the process. Stark saves Potts from the exploding drones' remains. Potts quits as CEO, and she and Stark kiss.
At a debriefing, while news footage of a rampaging Hulk plays, Fury informs Stark that while Iron Man is a suitable candidate for the "Avengers Initiative", he himself is not. Stark agrees to serve as a consultant if Senator Stern acts as presenter at a ceremony planned for awarding Stark and Rhodes with medals for bravery, which Stern reluctantly does.
In a post-credits scene, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson reports the discovery of a large hammer at the bottom of a crater in a desert in New Mexico.
Cast
- A billionaire who escaped captivity with a suit of armor he created, he now struggles to keep his technology out of the government's hands. Downey and Favreau, who had been handed a script and worked from it on the first movie, conceived of the film's story themselves.[7] On Stark being a hero, Downey said "It’s kind of heroic, but really kind of on his own behalf. So I think there’s probably a bit of an imposter complex and no sooner has he said, ‘I am Iron Man -’ that he’s now really wondering what that means. If you have all this cushion like he does and the public is on your side and you have immense wealth and power, I think he’s way too insulated to be okay."[8] Downey put on 20 pounds of muscle to reprise the role.[9] Six-year-old Davin Ransom portrays Tony Stark as a child.[10]
- Stark's closest friend, budding love interest, and business partner; Pepper is promoted to CEO of Stark Industries.[11] On her character's promotion, Paltrow opined "When we start Iron Man 2 Pepper and Tony are very much in the same vibe... as the movie progresses, Pepper is given more responsibility and she's promoted and it's nice to see her sort of grow up in that way. I think it really suits her, the job fits her really well."[12] Paltrow expressed excitement to work with Johansson.[13]
- An officer in the U.S. Air Force and Tony Stark's close personal friend. Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard from the first film.[14] Cheadle only had a few hours to accept the role and did not even know what storyline Rhodes would undergo.[15] He commented that he is a comic book fan, but had not previously participated in comics-themed films due to the scarcity of black superheroes.[16] Cheadle said he thought Iron Man was a robot before the first film came out.[11] On how he approached his character, Cheadle stated "I go, what’s the common dominator here? And the common denominator was really his friendship with Tony, and that’s what we really tried to track in this one. How is their friendship impacted once Tony comes out and owns 'I am Iron Man?'".[17] Cheadle said his suit was 50 pounds of metal, and that he couldn't touch his face while wearing it.[18]
- An undercover spy for S.H.I.E.L.D. posing as Stark's new assistant. Johansson dyed her hair red before she landed the part, hoping that it would help convince Favreau that she was right for the part.[19] She stated that she had "a bit of a freak-out moment" when she first saw the cat-suit.[20] When asked about fighting in the costume, Johansson responded "a big part of me is like “can I move in this? Can I run in it? Can I like throw myself over things with this?” And I think just the prep, you just have to put in the hours. That’s what I realized is that just putting in the hours and doing the training and repetition and basically just befriending the stunt team and spending all day, every day, just over and over and over and over until you sell it."[20]
- A rival weapons manufacturer. Sam Rockwell was considered for the role of Tony Stark in the first film, and he accepted the role of Hammer without reading the script.[21] He had never heard of the character before he was contacted about the part, and was unaware Hammer is an old Englishman in the comics.[22] Rockwell said, "I worked with Jon Favreau on this film called Made. And Justin Theroux, who wrote the script, is an old friend of mine, they sort of cooked up this idea and pitched it to Kevin Feige. What they did, they were maybe going to do one villain like they did with Jeff Bridges, but then they decided to split the villains. And really Mickey [Rourke] is the main [villain], but I come to his aid."[23] Rockwell described his character as "plucky comic relief, but he's got a little bit of an edge".[24]
- A Russian physicist and ex-convict who builds his own arc reactor-based weapon to exact vengeance on the Stark family.[25] The character is an amalgam of Whiplash and Crimson Dynamo. Rourke visited Butyrka prison to research the role,[26] and he suggested half of the character's dialogue be in Russian.[27] He also suggested the addition of tattoos, gold teeth and a fondness for a pet cockatoo, paying for the teeth and bird with his own money.[28] Rourke explained that he didn't want to play a "one-dimensional bad guy", and wanted to challenge the audience to see something redeemable in him.[11] Not knowing anything about computers, Rourke described pretending to be tech-savvy as the hardest part of the role.[29]
- Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Jackson signed a nine-film contract to play the character.[30] On the subject of his character not seeing any action in the film, Jackson said "We still haven't moved Nick Fury into the bad-ass zone. He's still just kind of a talker."[31]
Additionally, news anchor Christiane Amanpour[41] and political commentator Bill O'Reilly[42] play themselves in newscasts. Adam Goldstein appears as himself and the film is dedicated to his memory.[43] Further cameos include Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and Oracle Corporation CEO Larry Ellison.[44] Tanoai Reed from American Gladiators appears as a security guard.
Production
Development
During development, Favreau said the film would explore Stark's alcoholism, but it would not be "the 'Demon in a Bottle' version".[47] While promoting the first film, Downey stated that Stark would probably develop a drinking problem as he is unable to cope with his age, the effects of revealing he is Iron Man, and Pepper getting a boyfriend.[48] Downey later clarified that the film was not a strict adaptation of the '"Demon in a Bottle" storyline from the comic book series, but was instead about the "interim space" between the origin and the "Demon" story arc.[49] Shane Black gave some advice on the script, and suggested to Favreau and Downey that they model Stark on J. Robert Oppenheimer, who became depressed with being "the destroyer of worlds" after working on the Manhattan Project.[48]
Pre-production
Immediately following Iron Man's release, Marvel Studios announced that they were developing a sequel, with an intended release date of April 30, 2010.[50] In July 2008, after several months of negotiating, Favreau officially signed on to direct.[51] That same month Justin Theroux signed to write the script, which would be based on a story written by Favreau and Downey.[52] Theroux co-wrote Tropic Thunder, which Downey had starred in, and Downey recommended him to Marvel.[53] Genndy Tartakovsky storyboarded the film,[54] and Adi Granov returned to supervise the designs for Iron Man's armor.[47]In October 2008, Marvel Studios came to an agreement to film Iron Man 2, as well as their next three films, at Raleigh Studios in Manhattan Beach, California.[55] A few days later, Don Cheadle was hired to replace Terrence Howard.[14] On being replaced, Howard stated, "There was no explanation, apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes. Promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up."[56] Entertainment Weekly stated Favreau did not enjoy working with Howard, often re-shooting and cutting his scenes; Howard's publicist said he had a good experience playing the part, while Marvel chose not to comment. As Favreau and Theroux chose to reduce the role, Marvel came to Howard to discuss lowering his salary – Howard was the first actor hired in Iron Man and was paid the largest salary. The publication stated they were unsure whether Howard's representatives left the project first or if Marvel chose to stop negotiating.[57] Theroux denied the part of the report which claimed the size of the role had fluctuated.[53]
In January 2009, Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell entered negotiations to play a pair of villains.[58] A few days later Rockwell confirmed he would take the role, and that his character would be Justin Hammer.[21] Paul Bettany confirmed that he would be returning to voice JARVIS.[37] Marvel entered into early talks with Emily Blunt to play the Black Widow,[59] though she was unable to take the role due to a previous commitment to star in Gulliver's Travels.[60] Samuel L. Jackson confirmed that he had been in discussions to reprise the role of Nick Fury from the first film's post-credits scene, but that contract disputes were making a deal difficult. Jackson claimed that "There was a huge kind of negotiation that broke down. I don’t know. Maybe I won’t be Nick Fury."[61]
In February, Jackson and Marvel came to terms, and he was signed to play the character in up to nine films.[30] Downey and Rourke discussed his part during a roundtable discussion with David Ansen at the 2009 Golden Globes, and Rourke met with Favreau and Theroux to discuss the role. Rourke almost dropped out due to Marvel's initial salary offer of $250,000, but the studio raised the offer, and in March Rourke signed on.[62] Later that same day Scarlett Johansson signed on to play the Black Widow. Her deal included options for multiple films, including potentially The Avengers.[63] In April, Garry Shandling,[36] Clark Gregg,[33] and Kate Mara[33] joined the cast.
Filming
Principal photography began April 6, 2009,[64] at the Pasadena Masonic Temple.[65] The fake working title was Rasputin.[66] The bulk of the production took place at Raleigh Studios,[67] though other locations were also used. Scenes were filmed at Edwards Air Force Base from May 11 through May 13. The location had also been used for Iron Man, and Favreau stated that he felt the "real military assets make the movie more authentic and the topography and the beauty of the desert and flightline open the movie up".[68] The Historic Grand Prix of Monaco action sequence was shot in the parking lot of Downey Studios, with sets constructed in May[69] and filming lasting through June.[70] Permission to film in Monaco prior to the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix had initially been awarded, but was later retracted by Bernie Ecclestone. The filmmakers shipped one Rolls-Royce Phantom there, and filmed a track sequence in which race cars were later digitally added. Tanner Foust took on the role of driving Stark's racing car.[71] Also in June, it was reported that John Slattery had joined the film's cast as Howard Stark.[35] Olivia Munn was also cast, in an unspecified role.[72]
"This is one of the richest men in the world, so we can’t buy our
practicals from Home Depot. Everything had to be intelligent technology,
and it had to look classic enough to have some shelf life — we didn’t
want it to look embarrassingly dated 10 years from now."
Matthew Libatique, the film's cinematographer[67]
Principal photography lasted 71 days, and the film's production officially wrapped on July 18, 2009.[64] A post-credits scene depicting the discovery of a large hammer was filmed on the set of Thor, and some of it was reused in the film.[43] Jon Favreau revealed that the scene was filmed with anamorphic lenses to match Thor.[43]
Post-production
On the first Iron Man, we tried to use the Legacy [Studios, Stan Winston's effects company] and Stan Winston suits as much as we could. For the second one, Jon [Favreau] was confident we could create the CG suits, and the action dictated using them. So, Legacy created what we called the "football suits" from the torso up with a chest plate and helmet. We’d usually put in some arm pieces, but not the whole arm. In the house fight sequence, where Robert Downey Jr. staggers around tipsy, we used some of the practical suit and extended it digitally. Same thing in the Randy's Donuts scene. But in the rest of the film, we used the CG suit entirely. And Double Negative did an all-digital suit for the Monaco chase.[74]ILM created 527 shots for the film, using programs such as Maya.[75] Perception worked on over 125 shots for the film.[76] They crafted gadgets, such as Tony Stark's transparent LG smartphone,[77] and created the backdrops for the Stark Expo as well as the computer screen interfaces on the touch-screen coffee table and the holographic lab environment.[76] In total, 11 visual effect studios worked on the film.[73]
In January 2010, IMAX Corporation, Marvel Entertainment and Paramount Pictures announced that the film would receive a limited release on digital IMAX screens.[78] It was not shot with IMAX cameras, so it was converted into the format using the IMAX DMR technology.[54][78] The film underwent reshoots in February.[79] Olivia Munn's original role was cut, but she was given a new role during the reshoots.[39]
Music
Main articles: Iron Man 2 (soundtrack) and Iron Man 2: Original Motion Picture Score
A soundtrack album featuring AC/DC was released by Columbia Records on April 19, 2010,[80]
in at least three different versions: basic, special and deluxe. The
basic edition includes the CD; the special edition contains a 15-track
CD, a 32-page booklet and a DVD featuring interviews, behind-the-scenes
footage, and music videos; and the deluxe includes a reproduction of one
of Iron Man's first comic book appearances. Only 2 songs on the
soundtrack actually appear in the movie. Although not included on the
soundtrack album the film includes songs by The Average White Band, The Clash, Queen, Daft Punk, 2Pac and Beastie Boys.[81]The film score was released commercially as Iron Man 2: Original Motion Picture Score on July 20, 2010, featuring 25 songs. John Debney composed the score with Tom Morello.[82]
Distribution
Marketing
Author Alexander C. Irvine adapted the script into a novel, also titled Iron Man 2, that was released in April 2010.[88] Prior to the film release, Marvel Comics released a four issue miniseries comic book titled Iron Man vs Whiplash, which introduced the film's version of Whiplash into the Marvel Universe.[89] A three issue prequel miniseries titled Iron Man 2: Public Identity was released in April.[90][91][92]
Video games
Main article: Iron Man 2 (video game)
The video game was released by Sega on May 4, 2010 in North America,[93] written by The Invincible Iron Man scribe Matt Fraction.[94] The game's Comic Con trailer showed that the Crimson Dynamo was set to appear as a villain.The Wii version was developed by High Voltage Software and all console versions were published by Sega,[95] while Gameloft published the mobile game.[96] Cheadle and Jackson voice their respective characters in the games.[97] The trailer revealed that A.I.M, Roxxon Energy Corporation, and Ultimo (depicted as a man named Kearson DeWitt in a large armor) are enemies in the game as well as reveal that the wearer of the Crimson Dynamo armor is General Valentin Shatalov.[98] The game received generally unfavorable reviews, with a Metacritic score of 41% for both the PS3[99] and Xbox 360[100] versions.
Release
The international release date of the film was moved forward to increase interest ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup association football tournament.[101] Since the film was included in a predetermined legacy distribution deal that was signed before the Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel, Paramount Pictures was able to acquire 8% of the box office, while the remaining portion went to Disney.[3][102]Home media
On September 28, 2010, the film was released onto DVD and Blu-ray Disc.[103]The film is also scheduled to be collected in a 10-disc box set titled Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled which will include all of the "Phase One" films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[104] However, in September 2012, the release of the box set, which was scheduled on the same day as the Blu-ray release of The Avengers, was delayed until Q1 2013, due to a pending law suit over the suitcase used to package the collection.[105]
Reception
Box office
Iron Man 2 premiered in Los Angeles, California on April 26, 2010, and was released in 54 countries between April 28 and April 30 before going into general release in the U.S. on May 7, 2010.[106] It launched in six European markets with number-one openings on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, for a total $2.2 million from 960 venues.[107] It earned $100.2 million its first five days from 6,764 theaters in 53 foreign markets for a strong average of $14,814 per site.[4] IMAX Corporation reported grosses of $2.25 million at 48 IMAX theaters overseas, for an average of $46,875. This surpassed the previous record-holder for an IMAX 2D release, 2009's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($2.1 million).[108]The film grossed $128,122,480 in its opening weekend in the United States at 4,380 theaters, the fifth-highest opening weekend ever, at the time, behind The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It also had the highest opening for a 2010 movie.[109] The film yielded an average of $29,252 per theater. It grossed $51,239,677 on opening day and became the eleventh highest opening day on record.[110] Iron Man 2 generated $9.8 million from 181 IMAX venues. That was the highest opening weekend for a 2D IMAX film, surpassing Star Trek's previous record of $8.5 million.[109]
Iron Man 2 closed in theaters on August 19, 2010. It grossed $312,433,331 in the United States and Canada, as well as $311,500,000 in other markets, giving the film a worldwide total of $623,933,331.[4] Iron Man 2 was the third-highest grossing film of 2010 in the United States and Canada, behind Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland.[111] It was also seventh-highest grossing film of 2010 internationally, behind Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Inception, Shrek Forever After, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.[112]
Critical response
Iron Man 2 received generally positive reviews. It holds a 74% overall approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 264 reviews with an average rating of 6.5/10,[113] and the film is "Certified Fresh", with the critical consensus that "It isn't quite the breath of fresh air that Iron Man was, but this sequel comes close with solid performances and an action-packed plot".[113] Metacritic gave the film 57/100 based on a normalized rating of 40 reviews.[114]Positive reviewers include Brian Lowry of Variety who stated, "Iron Man 2 isn't as much fun as its predecessor, but by the time the smoke clears, it'll do".[42] Anthony Lane of The New Yorker said, "To find a comic-book hero who doesn't agonize over his supergifts, and would defend his constitutional right to get a kick out of them, is frankly a relief".[115] David Edelstein of New York Magazine wrote, "It doesn't come close to the emotional heft of those two rare 2s that outclassed their ones: Superman II and Spider-Man 2. But Iron Man 2 hums along quite nicely".[116] Roger Ebert gave it 3 stars out of 4, stating that "Iron Man 2 is a polished, high-octane sequel, not as good as the original but building once again on a quirky performance by Robert Downey Jr".[117] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International, a one-time Marvel Comics writer, said that, "In a refreshing and unexpected turn, the sequel to Iron Man doesn't find a changed man. Inside the metal, imperfect humanity grows even more so, as thought-provoking questions of identity meet techno-fantasy made flesh."[118]
Critics of the film include Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter, who stated, "Everything fun and terrific about Iron Man, a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, Iron Man 2 has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines."
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