Comic-Con Update #6
by James Roland
If you are nervous that Iron Man 2 will suffer from Pirates of the Caribbean-itis, it seems like you can breathe easy. Judging from the Comic-Con footage, it will be amazing.
It starts with Tony Stark in his suit with the mask off, chowing down donuts while sprawled inside a giant donut decoration that adorns a local bakery. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) appears and says, “Sir, I’ll have to ask you to step out of that donut.”
Then we see Stark sitting before a government hearing, and a sleazy U.S. Senator (played with surprising sincerity by Gary Shandling!) tries to force him to admit that “Iron Man” is a weapon.
Then after a fun montage of cool images that include Scarlett Johansson running around in a leather suit, we are introduced to Whiplash (Mickey Rourke). Ignore those still images that appeared online a while back; they do NOT do him justice!
The evil conviction and brutish revenge come across even in this limited footage. And his laser whips are beyond awesome. According to Roberty Downey Jr., Rourke actually spent time in a Russian prison to prepare for his role, and it looks like it paid off.
Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson seem to do well with their roles, but it’s hard to tell at this point. Their limited scenes were fine but not long enough to really form any opinion. It’s easy to cut together a flashy montage, but they dared to show completed scenes that had the flow, rhythm, and vibe of the original. All in all, the footage wowed the entire audience.
