Regardless, guess how I didn’t feel after Iron Man 2. I saw Avatar two weeks before it came out.” I know, it’s sad. There are certain movies that I still get quite giddy about seeing at advanced screenings. (Or is it DEFCON 5? Whichever one means “maximum readiness,” that’s where I was at.) And so, especially after the fantastic first film, my anticipation was at DEFCON 1. While all my friends were on the playground pretending they were superheroes that people had actually heard of-seriously, Thad Buster from 2nd grade, wasn’t Superman a bit too obvious?-I was alone in the corner pretending that I was passed out because I was Tony Stark and I was too drunk to fight crime today. Iron Man has always been my favorite Marvel superhero.
Look, there’s no movie I was looking more forward to this summer movie season than Iron Man 2. The scene I just described, that great scene from the trailer-it’s not in the movie. Just knowing that this scene was going to be in the sequel left me confident that I would leave the theater pleased, seeing Iron Man soar to new heights (you’re welcome, Iron Man 2 blurb miners).
It wasn’t so much the effects-which were great-as the character interactions and dialogue, particularly Downey’s breezy wisecracks, that won audiences over. Her boss, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), jumps out of the plane after the helmet, but not before borrowing a line from Jerry Maguire and telling Potts, “You complete me.” It’s a perfect example of what made the first Iron Man so special. There’s a scene in the trailer for Iron Man 2 where Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) kisses the Iron Man helmet then throws it out of an airplane cargo door.