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Trailer Talk: ‘Iron Man 2’ (Version Two)

— by CAM SMITH —

Some may gripe and impotently wave their fists, but I’m really appreciating the fact that Jon Favreau and his marketing team are showing an admirable amount of restraint thus far in selling “Iron Man 2” to the public masses. Usually, when it comes to summer tent-poles, I feel like I’ve seen every single money-shot and plot twist well before the actual theatrical experience – an annoyance that’s oddly counter-productive to Hollywood’s determination to use blockbuster movies as a means of showing us something new and never-before-seen. For example, how many of you sat through “2012” a few months back and felt like you already hadn’t seen all the impressive stuff?

Not the case with the second “Iron Man” picture’s latest trailer, which actually has the nerve – nerve, I say! – to recycle footage from the previous trailer! How shameless can you get? I mean, how will I ever know if I want to buy a ticket if I haven’t seen every single action scene featuring Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash?!

I’m being facetious, of course, as the new clip is an entirely brilliant piece of marketing, drawing us in with a handful of carefully-chosen new images and character bits while leaving us salivating like Pavlov’s dogs for more. At this point, is there anyone out there not living in a cave still unconvinced as to whether they want to see this movie or not?

Expanding on the War Machine and Whiplash-heavy first trailer, Favreau and Marvel stylishly use their two-and-a-half minutes of run-time to shine the spotlight on the film’s supporting cast, giving Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow (jumpin’ jabberwocky, does that woman know how to enter a boxing ring or what!?) and Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer a little more coverage, and the results are pretty damn awesome. While I’m well aware from watching “Lost in Translation” and “Match Point” that Johansson can literally fog up the screen at will, Rockwell feels potentially like “Iron Man 2’s” true secret weapon. I love his bad-boy swagger and he’s practically leaving grease stains on the furniture in that encounter with Rourke. He looks like a ton of fun.

Also, apparently learning a truly groovy lesson from “Clash of the Titans’” awesome rock ‘n roll drumming scorpions bit, “Iron Man 2” raises the bar by offering up a killer shot of Hammer’s robotic war-drones landing around Stark and Rhodey with chill-inducing rhythmic precision. Feel free to shoot up your devil horns and salute the supreme dark lord in awed reverence. I know I did.

It’s also pretty nifty to see Stark’s suitcase armor in the last few seconds. I love how the filmmakers have taken such geeky, obscure little aspects of the comic-book continuity and presented them in a way that general audiences’ can be blown away by. I mean, when you have MTV — the bastion of cool kid-friendly news — writing an article on the history of a B-list superhero’s travel-friendly costume, you know that the character has become part of the public consciousness in a major way. Gotta say, silly stuff like this makes the pre-teen Marvel comics-reader in me positively swell with pride.

With less than two months to go until it blows the doors off your local multiplex, “Iron Man 2” is looking to be an unstoppable box-office juggernaut. Fortunately, judging from trailers such as the one included here, it looks to be for the right reasons for a change.

Source: TrailerSpy

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Follow Cam Smith on Twitter at http://twitter.com/camspcepisodes.


0 Comments Add Yours ↓

  1. 1

    After seeing both trailers, I have 100% faith in “Iron Man 2.”

  2. Ben Fowler #
    2

    I thought the same thing when seeing the suitcase armour. It’s great to see these uber geeky aspects of the character making it into the mainstream consciousness. Kinda like seeing the koboyashi maru finally appear onscreen in Star Trek.

  3. moviefan #
    3

    was a pretty sweet trailer. looks to be another hit for marvel studios. Cant wait to see it in may.

  4. 4

    Wow.