Henry Saw: Iron Man 2

A worthy sequel



I consider Iron Man the first major movie I really reviewed for PITAOE. Sure, I had written about The Ruins and Baby Mama before Iron Man, but who remembers those movies? Iron Man was the first event film to be released after we started PITAOE. Iron Man is quite possibly the best summer movie of my lifetime. Everyone I know loved it. Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Tony Stark is the most perfectly captured portrayal of a Super Hero of all time, and the spark he brought to the part permeated throughout the whole movie. Iron Man set the benchmark for all future summer action flicks - including its sequel.

I'm also heavily invested in what Marvel Films is trying to pull off. I've been a comic book reader since I was five and I was always a Marvel fan-boy. The idea that Marvel is trying to build a universe in their films that resembles what the comics have built up over the last 50 years is incredibly exciting. The way that Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk introduced the world was perfect. It is clear that part of Iron Man 2's job was to set-up the forthcoming films: Thor and Captain America.

So how was Iron Man 2? It's a really fun time at the movies. It works as a sequel to Iron Man, meaning it has the same tone and feel as the first film, and continues Tony Stark's story in a logical way. Thanks to stellar work from the whole cast the movie is always entertaining, even when it is let down by the script, and the action is even better than in the first. IM 2 is not as good as the first film, it's not as tightly constructed and isn't bursting with the same energy, but this is hardly Spider-Man 3. I liked Iron Man 2 a great deal and I'm very excited to see it again soon.



Iron Man 2 begins right after the first film ended: We open with Mickey Rourke's Ivan Vanko watching Stark's "I AM IRON MAN" press conference. We fast forward six months and see that Tony Stark/Iron Man has been completely embraced by the public. The US Government, however, wants Stark to share his technology with the army and is frustrated by his refusal to do so. Though still close with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes (Don Cheadle who replaced Terrence Howard), Tony does not tell either of them that the same technology that saved his life, and allowed Iron Man to exist, is now slowly killing him. As the film progresses Tony must contend with Vanko, a rival executive named Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D., and a beautiful new assistant (Scarlet Johansson) who is not all that she seems.

It is a very busy movie. It's not difficult to follow, but each plot thread is underdeveloped as a result of how many balls Favreau is trying to juggle. Iron Man was intensely focused on Tony Stark, and to a lesser extent, his relationship with Pepper. This led to some complaining about how little we got to know about Jeff Bridges' Obidiah Stane and Terrence Howard's Rhodey in the first one. This film has Tony confronting the government, Vanko, Justin Hammer, Pepper at times, Rhodey at times, his father, and his own weaknesses. Plus, we get Nick Fury and Black Widow in roles that, if one does not know about the Avengers movie, would feel completely superfluous. It's a little too much.



Thankfully, the cast makes it work. Downey Jr. owns the role. He's so charming, and compelling, that he prevents the film from ever collapsing under its own weight. Also standing out again is Gwyneth Paltrow. I'm not a huge Paltrow fan but I love her in these movies. She's clearly having a great time, has great chemistry with Downey Jr., and really does add a touch of class to the proceedings. Don Cheadle does a worthy job replacing Terrence Howard, he's simply a better actor, and makes for a more believable War Machine than Howard would have (I think at least). As Justin Hammer, Sam Rockwell brings his usual quirky rhythm to the role. His banter with Tony Stark is highly enjoyable and Rockwell is able to make a fairly well rounded character out of an underwritten part. Scarlet Johansson looks good, but makes little impact as Natalie, and never felt essential. The biggest flaw in the cast, as I knew it would be, was Mickey Rourke. He's not bad, he's just so awful to look at, and brings nothing to his scenes with Rockwell or Downey Jr.. Finally, as Nick Fury, Sam Jackson is Sam Jackson.

The plot has some high and low points. The idea of Tony Stark refusing to share his armor with the government, and "privatizing world peace", makes total sense for the character. I also enjoyed the idea of Justin Hammer, a jealous rival to Stark, doing everything he can to reproduce the Iron Man armor and sell it to the military. Unfortunately the sub-plot of Tony Stark's armor slowly killing him, and the National Treasure like way he solves the problem, is trite and uninteresting. I appreciated the self-destructive behavior Stark indulges in as a result of his impending doom, and bought the fight Stark has with Rhodey as a result of his conduct, but I don't think Stark needed to be dying to act reckless and drink too much. The character of Tony Stark has always been somewhat irresponsible and an alcoholic.



The Vanko sub-plot, and his family's feud with the Starks, did nothing for me. The rivalry with Justin Hammer was enough for the film. Why not just have Whip-Lash (the villain from the comics that Vanko most closely resembles) be a random goon of Hammer's? It's a bit strange how every superhero movie is so afraid to have a villain who is not really a developed character. Not every villain in the comics has a motivation beyond being greedy and immoral and I wouldn't mind a superhero movie in which we aren't asked to care who the villain really is.



The action sequences in this film are superior to those in the first film. What was strange about the first Iron Man is that the action sequences were among the worst parts of the movie. Other than Iron Man's brief battle against terrorists (the second big set piece), the other action scenes were all unimpressive, and the final fight against Stane was the most disappointing. Favreau must have realized this as he hired the talented Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of Dexter's Laboratory and Samurai Jack, to storyboard the action sequences. Iron Man 2 features two great action scenes and two decent ones - still an improvement on the first film - and enough to make this fan very happy. The best action scene has Iron Man and War Machine (Rhodey in a modified armor of his own) fighting against Hammer's drone robots. It's the scene where we can most easily recognize Tartakovsky's influence. It's my favorite action scene in a comic book movie since Spider-Man 2, as it brings to life and enhances the best Iron Man fights I've ever read from the comics, and gives the film the kind of big concluding fight it deserves.

Iron Man 2 is a must see, even though it's not as strong as the first Iron Man, and its a film I can't wait to revisit. It's another enjoyable romp and its flaws, though far more apparent than in the first film, aren't serious enough to prevent having a good time. Perhaps its best feature is that its a smart film, about thinking adults, and never plays down to the audience. It's a fun film, as it should be, and well worth your time.

Grade: B+

Best Scene: The fight between Iron Man / War Machine and the Droids...