Iron Man 2 & AC/DC
The sequel to the 572 million dollar mechanical man and comic book superhero movie marvel is finally here! Iron Man 2 will be releasing across the U.S. at 12:00 midnight this Friday, May 7th.
Of course, “Will it beat the action sequel curse?” is the question on every Marvel fan’s lips. The buzz on this film is that it does and doesn’t. In the first installment, Robert Downey, Jr. masterfully stole the show. Tony Stark was a role Downey, Jr. was born for. Although, the RDJ experience left some critics feeling negative about the eclipsing of Iron Man’s supporting roles. This time around, Iron Man 2 adds more characters and even scales back some of the bad boy’s screen time to let them shine through.
Six months after revealing his identity as Iron Man, Stark Industries CEO Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) has helped maintain world peace. He opens the Stark Expo in Flushing, New York, to continue his father’s legacy. A United States Senate committee, led by Senator Stern (Gary Shandling), demands Stark release the technology for military application. Stark refuses, publicly shaming rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) in demonstrating how competitors are at least five years away from successfully recreating the technology.
Stark has discovered the palladium in the arc reactor keeping him alive is slowly poisoning him. All attempts to find a substitute element have failed. Slowly going off the rails as a consequence of what he believes to be his impending death, he appoints his former personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) CEO of Stark Industries, replacing her with Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson).
While participating in a race in Monaco, Stark is attacked by Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), who has constructed a miniaturized arc reactor of his own, including whip-like attachments harnessing the electrical energy. Defeating Vanko with the aid of his briefcase armor, Stark discovers that Vanko is the son of his father’s old business partner, disgraced Russian physicist Anton Vanko, who collaborated on the first arc reactor and has passed the technology on following his death. Vanko is broken out of jail by Justin Hammer, who puts him to work fashioning a line of armored combat units that he will use to upstage Stark at his own Expo.
That’s enough spoiler though. You’ll have to plop your ass in a movie theater seat to know more. Let’s talk about the tunes.
The Soundtrack
The Iron Man 2 soundtrack album featuring AC/DC was released by Columbia Records on April 19, 2010. There are at least three different versions: basic, special, and deluxe:
**The basic edition includes solely the CD
**The standard edition contains a 15-track CD, a 32-page booklet, and a DVD featuring interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and music videos.
**The deluxe also includes a reproduction of one of Iron Man’s first comic book appearances.
The album is seen as being used in the same sense as “Who Made Who” was for Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive, not a greatest hits collection but a compilation album which contains both hits and lesser known tracks. Unlike “Who Made Who”, however, there are no new songs. Co-Chairman of Columbia Records, Steve Barnett said, “Jon Favreau’s vision and passion for AC/DC’s music blend seamlessly into this incredible film; the music really underscores the high energy and excitement of the film.”
This list reads like a diesel fueled rock opera for any true AC/DC fan:
Iron Man 2 Soundtrack: (In Order)
*Shoot To Thrill
*Rock ‘N’ Roll Damnation
*Guns For Hire
*Cold Hearted Man
*Back In Black
*Thunderstruck
*If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)
*Evil Walks
*T.N.T.
*Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be
*Have A Drink On Me
*The Razor’s Edge
*Let There Be Rock
*War Machine
*Highway To Hell
The album features an almost half-and-half mix of songs from both the Bon Scott and Brian Johnson eras of AC/DC. The album features fifteen tracks from ten different albums, ranging from 1975 to 2008. Only two songs (“Shoot to Thrill” and “Highway to Hell”) were used in the film. As of 29th April, 2010, the album had sold 200,000 copies worldwide.
Tags: AC/DC, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 2 Soundtrack, Robert Downey Jr