Iron Man 2 review
Recently I applied to write for a film site that will be launching shortly, suffice to say I didn’t get accepted. For my application I had to write three reviews for films that had been released this year and since they won’t be used there I figured I’d start posting them here.
Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger. These are the general rules for every superhero sequel, it’s the one of the few genre of films that defies the rule that a sequel is never as good as the original, they’re better.; X-Men 2, Spiderman 2, Blade 2 (just about), The Dark Knight, Batman Returns and even Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer are better films than their predecessors. The first film in any superhero franchise is all about the set up, nothing big has to happen in the film – apart from the obligatory big fight scene in the final chapter – as long as the characters get established and the roots of a franchise takes shape everything is fine. Iron Man was a breath of fresh air when it was released in 2008, after the Batman Begins every superhero franchise went ‘dark and broody’ Iron Man got released wearing its heart on it’s sleeve, completely self aware and creating a mega star out of Robert Downey Jnr. in the process but more importantly it was fun, released at a time when the genre needed cheering up and that’s why it succeeded. Iron Man 2 was released on a wave of hype and expectation but was it better than the first?
Carrying on six months after the first film Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jnr.) is a hero around world, having become a walking, talking nuclear deterrent and damn proud of it, nothing can stop him. Except from the Palladium that’s keeping alive is also the slowly killing him, plus a genius Russian psychopath, Ivan Vanko (Micky Rourke) who has ties to his past is being bankrolled by his biggest rival, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) to build an army of Iron Men to sell to the highest bidder. It probably doesn’t help that the American government wants the Iron Man suit for themselves and Starks best friend James Rhodes (Don Cheadle, replacing Terrance Howard) is inclined to agree with them, things are stacked against him but it’s Tony Stark a wink and smile will get him out of this one right?
Iron Man 2 is certainly bigger than the first film and has an ego almost as big as its title character but you can’t hold it against Downey Jnr. he looks like he’s having the time of his life and it’s infectious, kids will walk of the cinema wanting to Iron Man, most guys over the age of 20 will want to be Tony Stark. Mickey Rourke does well as a glorified pantomime villain, turning up as and when he’s required laughing menacingly and acting tough, it’s a shame his role becomes nothing more than a bad guy in mech suit which is something that worries me for the rest of the series and has me wondering if this is how all of the villains are going to end up. Sam Rockwell steals every scene he’s in as Tony Starks rival Justin Hammer, it’s not that he wants to be more successful than Tony Stark, he wants to be Tony Stark and he’s just so slimy it’s a joy to watch as he pretends he’s even a tenth as smooth as Stark. Scarlett Johansson smoulders in every scene she as the Black Widow, in a role purpose built to grow within the larger Marvel universe. Don Cheadle does a fine job of replacing Terrance Howard in the film, in fact I think he does a better job than Howard, making him a more stoic representation of Starks more serious side and reminding him of the responsibility he now has to the people. Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Favreau both get more fleshed out rolls but they’re there mostly for the will they won’t they relationship and comic relief respectively. Once again Clark Gregg and Samuel L. Jackson turn up as the S.H.I.E.L.D agents out to remind Tony Stark and the audience that there’s a bigger (Marvel) universe out there and he’s not the centre of it, I have to admit I’m looking forward to the day Marvel have the sense to give us a film with those guys as the stars.
Everyone’s given their time to shine and there in lies the films biggest problem, not all the characters need their moment in the spotlight, characters like Pepper and Happy don’t need big moments they just need to be there and act well. That would normally be fine, and to some extent expected in the sequel, the problem is Marvel trying to shoehorn in as many references to the impending Marvel universe as they can and the film suffers because of it. I would love to say that Black Widow is an unnecessary addition to the cast but I’m not going to deny any hot blooded male the opportunity to witness Scarlett Johansson drop a room full of guys in a tight leather cat suit, that just wouldn’t be right.
Favreau’s skills of shooting action in have grown from the first film, every action scene is tighter and the pacing keeps them chugging along at a great pace. The race sequence which takes places in Monte Carlo early in the film is a particular highlight as the shots quickly jump between the race, Vanko and Pepper and Happy slowly coming to realisation of what about to happen before rushing to Tony Starks side. The scenes meet in a fantastic crescendo culminating Stark throwing the suitcase armour on from ‘that’ money shot in the comic trailer that got everybody excited for the film in the first place.
If you loved the first Iron Man then your going to love this and it that respect it certainly improves on the first film, it’s more fun, it’s explosions are bigger, the action is faster and Downey Jnr. continues to have the time of his life. Jon Favreau continues to grow as film-maker with this film and in my opinion is one of the few directors in Hollywood that can juggle creating an intelligent, coherent story whilst giving the summer audience exactly what they want. Iron Man 3 isn’t going to be released until at least two years after The Avengers and that’s not out until 2012, if Marvel can resist shoving linking characters and references into the film every few scenes then the no reason that Iron Man 3 can’t get even better.
Score 7 out of 10
