Iron Man 2: At the Core of It

Much more satisfying an experience than the film we have. Much of the edits made here are very smart and fix much of the movie's problems. Good stuff.

Some of the changes were great. For example removing the scene where Tony kicks his driver out so he can race, making it seem as though Whiplash logically would have expected him to be racing, and Pepper kissing his helmet before throwing it (taken from the trailer). Removing "that is not my bird" was also nice since the scene was just a time wasting distraction originally.
I appreciate trimming of unnecessary dialog and overall reduced runtime. With that said, some of the changes seemed strange, including a couple of instances where a setup to a joke is trimmed yet the payoff remains, or vice versa.
The relatively large file size was great as it means the video had a high bitrate therefore higher quality, and the inclusion of a 5.1 surround mix (along with optional subtitles) was greatly appreciated.

I've always felt Iron Man 2 COULD HAVE been so much better than it was, and finally I get a sense of what some quality editing can do. Cutting back on some of the Justin Hammer 'humor' was a good thing, and Ivan 'Whiplash' Vanko seems a bit more menacing now. But I must say I really liked the greater focus on Tony's paladium poisoning, making that the real threat. Overall this edit took a very flawed movie and gave it some more gravitas, while also cutting out a bit of the negative Tony-Pepper elements to make them seem happier. Considering the material available and actors in the film, this is going to be my go to cut of IM2 from now on.