"Iron Man 2" Movie Trailer Review

Movie Trailer Review

"Iron Man 2"

By our guest blogger, Joel Crabtree

The new "Iron Man 2" trailer plays out a lot like an extended cut of the first trailer. The new one gives us a little more Scarlet Johansson, introduces us to Sam Rockwell's villainous Justin Hammer and offers a better glimpse of Don Cheadle in the War Machine costume.

What the trailer is really selling, though, is Robert Downey Jr. He is Iron Man--not just the character, but the franchise. Without Downey, and director John Favreau's perfect sense of the Marvel Universe, there probably wouldn't be an "Iron Man 2." It would have turned into "Fantastic Four" all over again--and, really, who wants that?

What the new trailer is missing is the foreboding feeling created by Mickey Rourke's Whiplash. His voice over echoed throughout the first trailer, and in this one, it's barely present. The focus also has shifted away from the racetrack attack to give the viewers a better look at all the characters--not just Stark and Whiplash.

In the sequel, Iron Man is faced with two villains--Justin Hammer and Whiplash. The former is a mastermind and financier looking to one-up Stark's Iron Man invention, the latter is the hired muscle looking for revenge. He just hates everything Tony Stark represents. Stark, however, has some backup of his own in Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes aka War Machine. And Scarlet Johansson plays Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. I'm still not entirely sure where she fits into all this.

The trailer is fun. It sells the charm of Robert Downey Jr. (a crucial element for fans of the original), it blasts out some AC/DC and it continues to give us exactly what we're looking for. There is no doubt that "Iron Man 2" will be a hit. The last one made $318 million domestically. I bet this one will clear $400 million.

View the movie trailer for "Iron Man 2" below. What are your thoughts?