IRON MAN 2 is loud, violent, exciting, ridiculous, and a bit pretentious. In other words, it is the perfect way to blast into the summer movie season.
Picking up where the 2008 hit flick left off, IRON MAN 2 has brilliant industrialist Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man coping with a very public super hero lifestyle. Remember that the first film ended with Stark’s admission “I am Iron Man” at a press conference. This second film starts with an introduction to Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) a mysterious super villain in the making. Apparently, Stark’s Iron Man invention has touched off a world-wide arms race of sorts as nations scramble to reproduce the powerful suit of armor Stark often inhabits. Vanko is shown tinkering in Russia with a similar device.
Following a contentious Senate hearing in which Stark is grilled by a Senator (played with sarcastic zeal by Garry Shandling), the race is on to remove what has been called “the Iron Man weapon” from Stark’s control. Oddly, this subplot is not explored from a legal perspective—just how can Stark possess such a potentially dangerous weapon without being arrested? After all, the singer/rapper T.I. went to prison for attempting to buy a machine gun. No matter, IRON MAN 2 does not try to tell a story that is of our universe, and as the film becomes more and more unhinged, its comic book origins shine through.
The movie is populated by a large number of characters making this sequel little more than a bridge to the films that will come after. While crowded, the direction and writing manages the party well. We get more of an eye-patch wearing Sam Jackson playing Marvel Comic’s special agent Nick Fury of SHIELD. Rival industrialist Justin Hammer is performed by Sam Rockwell in a way that spoofs Rockwell’s acting technique providing comic relief. Rockwell moonwalks through the role like only he can. The shapely Scarlett Johansson occupies the dual character of Natalie Rushman and super agent Natasha Romanoff. A new James Rhodes takes the form of Don Cheadle (who is one of the best actors working today, but seems a little bit of a light-weight here). And characters from the first film are given more importance, namely that of Pepper Potts (played by Gwyneth Paltrow with a set jaw and a pleasant femininity).
The chemistry between Paltrow and Downey is very good as their characters explore an uncomfortable smoldering romance. And the addition of younger Johansson to the mix has the intended affect of turning up the heat. Johansson cuts quite a fetching figure when she dons a leather cat suit as her special agent alter ego. This much you can glean from the trailer.
IRON MAN 2 is not a perfect super hero film like say THE DARK KNIGHT. However, I think it’s safe to conclude that director Jon Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux understand that Iron Man isn’t a character to be taken too seriously who beats us over the head with heavy handed ideology. That would have defeated all the fun. And the expansion of the Marvel Comics’ universe of characters onto the big screen is unlikely to produce films worthy of Academy Award consideration. But as IRON MAN 2 will prove, audiences will gleefully reward the playful tone adopted here. I don’t think that I’m way off by predicting that IRON MAN 2 will be one of the most entertaining films you’ll see at theaters this year.
If filmmakers and studios learned anything from THE DARK KNIGHT, a super hero film is often as good as its super villain–one that even overshadows the hero himself. Usually the arch enemy of the super hero is motivated by three things: (1) wealth; (2) power; and/or (3) revenge. But DARK KNIGHT gave us a new kind of villain, The Joker, an evil presence that is very much of our world and rooted in terror. As Alfred warned Bruce Wayne in KNIGHT, some men just want to watch the world burn. It was that concept that made THE DARK KNIGHT so unique because it was impossible to predict what would happen next.
And where The Joker unleashed upon Gotham a torrent of terror that could barely be contained, Ivan Vanko in IRON MAN 2 merely has one desire—the end of Tony Stark. And honestly, the way Vanko goes about this is pretty scattershot. Vanko’s initial unveiling as the villain known to comic fans as Whiplash is pretty dumb. At a racing event he steps out onto the raceway and attacks Tony’s racecar. Not one police officer is shown drawing his weapon and dropping the unarmored Vanko with a clean kill shot. Had Vanko really wanted to kill Stark, there would have been much better ways to do it. There is some hint as to Vanko’s motivations and reasons for his kill technique, but little time is spent developing Vanko in a meaningful way. And the tattooed Rourke is a perfect choice for the role looking beaten and battered and just plain mean. That persona carries the characterization far enough to get by, but Vanko/Whiplash will be quickly forgotten as a super villain.
And let’s face it IRON MAN 2 works because Robert Downey, Jr.’s casting in the 2008 film was nothing short of inspired. As everything in this movie begins to explode or is otherwise damaged and reduced to mindless rubble, Downey stays consistent in character, sincerely playing Stark as a troubled genius fighting to do what he thinks is right. Stark’s ever deepening depression and descent into self-destruction probably could not have been so convincingly performed by Downey without drawing on his real life hard living and brushes with the law and addiction. On top of that, Downey plays Stark as just so darned cool, it is great fun. Key scenes in which Stark unravels the mysteries of his father’s inventions help give depth and add pathos to a film that would otherwise just be a series of action set-pieces.
I’ve been asked by several people whether they should be concerned about taking their children to IRON MAN 2. While there is some language and a high body count, the violence is bloodless and few actual dead bodies grace the screen. The movie does not push the edge of PG-13 and should be appropriate for today’s video gaming kids.
IRON MAN 2 makes one explosive summer ride.
