Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow
Viewed: At the cinema
Iron Man was one of 2007's biggest hits, both with critics and cinemagoers. Why? Because it gave us a refreshing and decidedly unorthodox hero in billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr). Here, Tony Stark is much the same- briliant, arrogant, impulsive, narcissistic and freakin awesome.
The coda of Iron Man showed Stark revealing to the world that he is, indeed, the infamous Iron Man. Lately, Stark's been having a good time being loved by all, while a big scary tatt-heavy Russian guy, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) is plotting against him on the other side of the world. Stark's long-suffering girlfriend/secretary, Pepper, is getting pretty fed up with him, the US government wants his suit, his new assistant (Scarlett Johanssen) is being mysterious in a sexy sorta way, and to top it all off, his Iron Man power source, that happens to be lodged in his chest, is slowly giving him blood poisoning.
The whole star-studded cast seem to be having fun. Downey Jr gets to fool around being the arrogant prick we all love. Scarlett Johanssen gets to be sexy, strong AND smart (ooh, groundbreaking). Don Cheadle (as the new Rhodey) gets to be dignified, exasperated and ultimately kinda badass. Sam Rockwell as Stark's clueless but power-hungry rival, Justin Hammer, was a little too caricature-ish for my liking, but he was clearly getting into it; he looked like he was relishing every minute in his bad guy role. Rockwell plays Hammer like he's straight out of a comic, but Rourke, however, takes his role with the utmost seriousness. Rourke is just...intense. Vanko looks like he's about to explode every time he's onscreen. Which is most appropriate for some of his action scenes.
Ah, yes, the action scenes. Can't have a superhero movie without a coupla dudes in metal exoskeletons punching and exploding each other to bits. While most of these are quite well-done and reasonably exciting there was one particular sequence that seemed like a wholly unnecessary and ridiculous excuse to destroy some expensive sets. I am afraid I cannot divulge details without spoilers, but I can say that it was thankfully not the finale, which I found satisfying enough.
NOTE to those with sensitive ear drums: Be prepared for some ear-splittingly loud sequences. Squealing tyres, screeching metal, weapons-grade explosives, AC/DC at full blast and some very enthusiastic crowds add up to a helluva lot of LOUD.
For a $200+ million movie, Iron Man 2 gives you what you'd expect in the SFX department. However, it also keeps up with the sense of humour that made its predecessor a hit. It's a pleasant antidote to the Dark Knight breed of comic book adaptation. Robert Downey Jr and the very lovely Gwyneth Paltrow have some wit-laden spats that are good fun to watch, as their timing is impeccable and their performances are so charming. Stark hogs most of the good one-liners, but there's a few to sprinkle around for the rest of the cast.
At just over 2 hours, Iron Man Deux is rather long. Not Dark Knight long, but lengthy enough to warrant a spot of subplot-trimming. There's a big chunk in the middle of it all that drags due to the vast weight of Tony Stark's numerous and rather complicated issues. Lopping a few of the inter-character conflicts and the whole daddy-issues thing out of it, saving them and recycling them for a sequel may have been a good idea to save us the extended wait for the obligatory climactic showdown.
Of course, there's an open ending for sequels, though I must say I don't really mind. In fact, if Favreau, Downey and co. can keep this up, I'm actually pretty damn excited.
Rating: 7
Verdict: Much more action heavy than the last instalment, although there's some substance behind it. Iron Man 2 is an "action film" but its greatest strengths are its performances and irreverent tone.
PS Apologies for the constant The Dark Knight comparisons. It just seems like TDK is the benchmark for superhero flicks these days (although I personally found it to be vastly overrated).
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