Iron Man 2: At the Core of It

I asked Lapis for the link to this back in February last year and I think it was around January I actually sat down to watch the film when I decided to go on a Marvel Binge.

This was a very simple edit, remove the bloat and tighten the narrative, while re-rigging the structure so there's an actual story to tell. Or tell the story that was always there, but make it easier to follow. One thing I like about At the core of it is the way Justin Hammer now mostly comes off as arrogant rather than stupid. He's an inferior Tony and we can still see that, but at least now he feels like less of a caricture. Tonys Declining health actually feels like more of a concern here as well instead of an afterthought.

Good stuff here, sorry I took so long.

I loved this! I never minded Iron Man 2, but this is a much better version. As others mentioned, the deleted scenes are slightly noticeable, but it doesn't diminish the enjoyment. And I really love the focus on Tony's heart condition. What a great edit!

I was not a fan of the original Iron Man 2. After the incredible first one, this was a let down. I would characterize it as a filler movie at best.

This edit greatly improved it and actually salvaged the movie for me, because it brought to the front the actual "bad guy" of the movie which was Tony Stark's heart condition and all the effects this seemingly unsolvable problem had to Tony's mind. Gone are all the unnecessary stuff and awkward humor and we have the best version of what this sequel could be.

Technical wise it was almost perfect and I also really appreciated that it has English subtitles, but I have one issue. After the final fight with Whiplash where Tony saves Pepper, go to the rooftop and she is delirious because of the stress, there is a cut to remove the two of them kissing and War Machine's scene. This cut from Pepper being delirious to Pepper being completely calm is really abrupt and takes you out of the moment. I don't think it was that important to not have them kiss, to force it with an edit that looks like a jump cut.

Lastly, I think the mid credits scene with Coulson is unnecessary, Thor's hammer is awesome enough by itself as a teaser, but no points reducted for this, it's just personal preference.

I definitely recommend this edit to anyone who found the theatrical movie mediocre. I believe this edit will salvage it for you and make it your go-to version for future MCU marathons. But even if you liked the theatrical, I still think this is a superior version.

Thank you lapis molari for all your hard work and thanks to anyone who read my review!

Some say Iron Man 2 is one of the worst MCU films. To me, the theatrical IM2 isn't as great as the rest of this particular cinematic universe but it isn't as terrible as people complain it to be. Iron Man's sequel did though have its flaws as any other film does whether small nor big. Personally I do agree that IM2 may be one of MCU's least best, but it isn't that horrible in the end. Believe me, there are way worse films that exist. Ishtar anyone???

Now we get to the core of it. (Get the pun? lol)

This edit is much more desirable than it's theatrical counterpart. More focus on the actual story and less corniness. We now care even more for the characters, as they are fleshed out further. Especially Black Widow's first ever appearance in the MCU stands out better than before.

I do not wanna spoil anything for the ones who haven't viewed this edit yet, but the deleted scenes back in and the new end credits are a fantastic touch. I am very pleased with this fan edit.

Thanks for the great work and hopefully more MCU edits to come.

This is a soft recommend for me...it really depends on your tastes. While there are some improvements over the theatrical cut, there are also parts that have been made worse through choppy cuts and the removal of key dialogue/scenes. This isn't a shelf replacer for me.

To be specific, we get the alternative opening for example, but not all of it. Tony being sick in the bathroom at the start and putting on a brave face and extra sass for Pepper establishes the narrative thrust of the whole film. Here, their conversation is chopped and noticeably weird. In fact, most of the conversations with Pepper are like that, apparently in an effort to make her less argumentative with Tony. This is problematic because 1. she has every reason to criticize him based on what she knows, 2. this is part of their fireball dynamic already established in the first film, and 3. it has the net effect of just making Pepper a trophy to be kissed at the end. She is never let in on the secret or given agency or allowed to display real emotion in this cut. It guts her character and also flows really oddly in many parts.

There is A LOT of Justin Hammer's stuff deleted, and it's a shame because Sam Rockwell is delightful. His quips are perfect, his dancing is marvelous. All gone. The mission here is apparently to make him threatening, but it's a total fail. There are still parts left in like his dud missile (with a farting noise!), his junk robots, his botched armor test... even in this cut it's clear that he's a Tony Stark knock-off. That's. The. Point. He's all flash and no talent. Vanko is the real talent, and yet he says very little, he's all action. Hammer is supposed to be Stark's distraction, and Vanko uses him as such. Many of the cuts to him are, for me, very misguided. And if you were going to make him a real threat, you'd have to cut much more. You'd also have to not add in scenes of people talking about chili dogs while he's being threatening. The tone management just doesn't work here.

Finally, the credits scenes are placed oddly for me. If you're going to have the one little stinger at the end, cool. If you're going to add in a 3 minute short, cool. But don't stop the credits to do the short, then run again for a couple minutes, then stop them again.... just combine the two Coulson scenes into one sequence! Easy solve.

There are a lot of welcome additions here and many edits that flow well. The music is usually matched well, and it's not typically obvious which are the deleted scenes. A few points are overly dark or have an odd tint though. I did appreciate seeing more of Rhodey in the suit and more of Tony doing inventing. But it ends up being "six of one, half a dozen of another". In the end, I think I miss too many things from the theatrical cut to truly love this one. Plus, that one just flows better. As I said, it may come down to personal choice, but this edit isn't really substantially better than the original film for me. However, if you have the specific viewpoints that the editor highlighted in the description, then maybe it'll work for you.