Director Jon Favreau and megastar actor Robert Downey Jr. have picked up right where they left off, providing a superhero film that is entertaining, thrilling, engaging, and a worthy sequel. While not perfect and lacking some charm, IRON MAN 2 is still a fun and powerful punch.
Six months after the events of the first film, Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) has his hands full. He is a full-blown hero, having achieved world peace through his Iron Man suit/persona. Soon however, things start going downhill, as he must deal with the U.S. government looking to pilfer his weaponry, a supervillian in the form of Ruskie Vanko/Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), a ruthless competitor in the form of Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), a feud with his best friend Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), and meddling by Nick Fury (Sam Jackson) and his SHIELD organization. On top of that, the device in his chest which is keeping him alive is also releasing lethal toxins into his body, just as he finds himself in a love triangle with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Natasha (Scarlett Johannson).
Sound like a lot? It is. However the writing keeps things moving and never lets the plot get too dense or lost amongst the shuffle. IRON MAN 2 is mostly Stark’s story, as he shoulders the burden of the world and his own problems. With the thrill of discovery (via origin tale) out of the way, the path is cleared to really focus on Starks character, his friends, and his enemies. A lot of attention is paid to Starks story, and the script/narrative is strong and clever enough where everyone around him gets a lot to do. Rhodes and Potts are put into difficult situations thanks to Stark’s behavior and decisions, and it’s a thrill to see the character deal with the consequences of his actions.
With so much attention given to Stark, some is lost on the two (2) villains of the story, Hammer and Vanko. Vanko is given some good attention and development early on, and his connection to Stark’s history is nicely done. However he eventually gets pushed to the back with little to do to show his malice or dread. Hammer feels like the real villain of the film, as he pulls the strings from behind the front lines with a nefarious plot of gaining power and fame as his motivation. Both villains feel a bit on the outside of Stark’s tale, and their lack of development is a major flaw.
Robert Downey Jr. once again has complete command of his character, with some excellent deliveries and fantastic body language. Paltrow feels a bit underused, as her new role in Stark Industries takes over her romantic role with Stark. Rockwell is the absolute scene-stealer of the film (as he always is), and Rourke does an excellent job when he does get to really flex his chops. The real disappointment is Cheadle’s Rhodes, who lacks the energy and passion of the previous installment of the character. It is a flat performance that will affect whether or not viewers will care about his character.
Action sequences are twice the fun the first film had, and they are preceded by excellent buildups. The final showdown with Vanko is a bit of a ho-hummer, and it’s the film’s own fault; the sequences prior to that are just too darn excellent and fun to top.
IRON MAN 2 seems to lack a little bit of the energy of its predecessor, but it still manages to have double of everything else: two villains, two Iron Men, two love interests, etc. The connections to the overall Marvel-verse are fun and are sure to bring smiles to every geeks’ face. There are many tie-ins to the upcoming AVENGER films, and the film almost becomes a bridge than its own story. Despite the flaws, this is still a must-see and a great ride.
BOTTOM LINE: See it. And stay for the end of the credits.
It was decent. The biggest problem is that the movie isn't about any one thing. There are so many ideas and not enough time or attention paid to any one for it to function as the primary story or conflict of the film. Rourke's character had almost zero motivation. Rockwell was great in his performance of the second bad guy, but also seemed like a stock character. Stark has no goal. He wants to stop his blood toxicity problem, but only spends 5 minutes actively doing that. The rest of the time, he's just acting out and not doing anything interesting or exciting. There are a few expendable scenes and characters that are obvious place-fillers for something in a future movie. In short, IM2 is just NOT a summer blockbuster. It's just an action movie without much purposeful action. It honestly felt more like an episode of a TV show in mid season instead of the finale, which is what it should have been like.
ReplyDeleteNot even close to the original, but still worth watching. In fact, I'll say anything with Sacrlett Johansson in tight leather kicking ass is worth watching.
Finally saw it last night. I enjoyed the hell out it but not as much as Iron Man 1.
ReplyDeleteA couple of point:
Don C - just flat in his acting.
SHEILD - When are we going to find a reason for SHEILD being assembled? So far the only threats to any of the heros (HULK and Iron Man) have been personal battles... If you are leading up to a full fldge tie-in, you need to start working on the back story now... Make the universe real.
Last Whiplash fight - not as good as the fight with the drones. To short and a bit anti-climatic. Mickey R was great in the roll and made it feel real.
Downey - Delvivers the Stark lines like he's lived the life. A joy to watch in the role and the drunk Iron Man was great.
This movie could have been the Empire Strikes Back of the franchise (tying in the next movies)... but it falls a little short.
I would see it again but I hope #3 is better than this.