Disclaimer: This is not exactly my best review as I've just come out from a bad case of writer's block, so apologies in advance. And when I learn how to post images onto posts, I'll add some to the review. Thanks for reading.
Film: Iron Man 2
Director: Jon Favreu
Written By: Justin Theroux
Distributor: Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios
Run Time: 2 hours 4 minutes
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson
Before I went and saw Iron Man 2, I was worried as I'd heard nothing but bad reviews from the mainstream press here in good old England. "It's not as good as the original." "The plot's too confusing!" "Nothing's explained!" "It's boring!" "Robert Downey Jr. has become a parody of himself!" "There's not enough Iron Man!" "THERE'S NOT ENOUGH IRON MAN!"
Ignore every single one of them. It's brilliant.
The plot has lots of different strands running through it, so let me summarise the big ones. It's six months on from the events of Iron Man 1 in which Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) revealed himself to be Iron Man to the world. He's been helping establish world peace and re-opened the Stark Expo. Unfortunately, the army doesn't like the idea of all of that power of the suit being in the hands of anyone but the army and are demanding Tony hand it over. He also has to deal with Ivan Vanko (Rourke) a.k.a. Whiplash gunning for him, new weapons contractor on the block Justin Hammer (Rockwell) trying to run his business into the ground, and the fact that the very power source that is keeping him alive is also slowly poisoning him and making him act out.
THEN there's Tony's continued crush on his long suffering assistant Pepper Potts (Paltrow), his new assistant Natalie Rushman (the ridiculously hot Johansson), his best friend but slowly ever more distant James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Cheadle) AND the return of S.H.I.E.L.D. and it's director Nick Fury (L. Jackson).
That seems like a lot to take in. And if you are a pessimistic fool, it is too much to take in. But the shocking thing is that almost every single one of these plots actually gets an equal amount of screen time. True, some do get left slightly unresolved but most aren't and it's a joy to be able to get satisfying conclusions out of all of the storylines.
The script is excellent and is handled by some great performers. Robert Downey Jr. once again steals the show as Tony Stark, managing to bottle that very special lightning that he caught during the first film. J.A.R.V.I.S. returns, still voiced by the excellent Paul Bettany who mixes the perfect amount of wit, sarcasm and capability. Scarlett Johansson doesn't get a whole lot to do as Natalie, but she does get a great action scene and is also insanely hot so, hey, I'll call this one even.
The standout though is Mickey Rourke as what amounts to basically being Whiplash. Being suitably creepy and unnatural, he captures the essence of a man who believes that his family has been wronged and will do anything to set it right. Hell, so is Sam Rockwell who gets to play the less cool version of Tony Stark but handles it all so right that he is able to go toe to toe with Downey Jr. whenever they?re on screen together. It's just a shame that the villains aren't used as often as they could be.
The action scenes are few but each of them raise the pulse and keep you on the edge of your seat. All of them are perfectly pulled off, spectacularly cool and look great too. The CGI blends effortlessly, even more so than in Iron Man 1 which shows how far technology has come in two years. The camera work is also much more vastly improved by not always going for the good old reliable shaky cam.
Unfortunately, there are some hiccups. Whilst the stand-off with Iron Man and Rhodey against (REMOVED FOR SPOILERS) is every bit as cool as it sounds, the resulting final showdown that follows leaves a little to be desired. Kind of like the first film. Also, whilst the fact that the film is actually more of a character piece than a proper superhero movie (and is so much better for it), the film still drags just a little in the second act. Just like in the first movie. Only here there's also a birthday party that I'm not going to spoil for you, but depending on the viewer it'll either be really well done or embarrassingly cringe worthy. In case you're wondering, I was the former.
In fact, the main problem with the film is that it's a bit too much like the first. The immediate shock to the system that Iron Man was more of a character piece isn't as shocking here in the sequel. It plays it straight down the line and doesn't really take too many risks or do much different, save for the more interesting and entertaining baddies.
Oh, and this didn't affect me too much, but this instalment seems to be a bit nerdier. Some of the plotlines don't get much explanation for those who don't know what people are on about or who they are and they could get left in the dark. That may turn off some of the more mainstream cinema goers but, hey, their loss. Oh, and in case it wasn't obvious, stay through the end credits. I have to echo moviebob's sentiments here. Holy shit! THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!
At the end of the day though, Iron Man 2 is a thoroughly good time at the cinema. I was actually struggling to find criticisms for this film as I sat here typing this up. Is it better than The Dark Knight? Close. Better than Kick-Ass? Maybe. We'll see what the end of year list brings, though Kick-Ass is just edging it right now. But Iron Man 2 is a great sequel and an even better movie. I had fun. My family had fun. And after having sat through expensive, over-hyped mediocrity and seeing Tim Burton's coffin have the last nail dug straight through its heart; that's all you can ask for really.
(But as a "Just in case", take half a point of the score if you aren't slightly familiar with the source material and the universe it inhabits.)
4 out of 5.
Film: Iron Man 2
Director: Jon Favreu
Written By: Justin Theroux
Distributor: Paramount Pictures, Marvel Studios
Run Time: 2 hours 4 minutes
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson
Before I went and saw Iron Man 2, I was worried as I'd heard nothing but bad reviews from the mainstream press here in good old England. "It's not as good as the original." "The plot's too confusing!" "Nothing's explained!" "It's boring!" "Robert Downey Jr. has become a parody of himself!" "There's not enough Iron Man!" "THERE'S NOT ENOUGH IRON MAN!"
Ignore every single one of them. It's brilliant.
The plot has lots of different strands running through it, so let me summarise the big ones. It's six months on from the events of Iron Man 1 in which Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) revealed himself to be Iron Man to the world. He's been helping establish world peace and re-opened the Stark Expo. Unfortunately, the army doesn't like the idea of all of that power of the suit being in the hands of anyone but the army and are demanding Tony hand it over. He also has to deal with Ivan Vanko (Rourke) a.k.a. Whiplash gunning for him, new weapons contractor on the block Justin Hammer (Rockwell) trying to run his business into the ground, and the fact that the very power source that is keeping him alive is also slowly poisoning him and making him act out.
THEN there's Tony's continued crush on his long suffering assistant Pepper Potts (Paltrow), his new assistant Natalie Rushman (the ridiculously hot Johansson), his best friend but slowly ever more distant James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Cheadle) AND the return of S.H.I.E.L.D. and it's director Nick Fury (L. Jackson).
That seems like a lot to take in. And if you are a pessimistic fool, it is too much to take in. But the shocking thing is that almost every single one of these plots actually gets an equal amount of screen time. True, some do get left slightly unresolved but most aren't and it's a joy to be able to get satisfying conclusions out of all of the storylines.
The script is excellent and is handled by some great performers. Robert Downey Jr. once again steals the show as Tony Stark, managing to bottle that very special lightning that he caught during the first film. J.A.R.V.I.S. returns, still voiced by the excellent Paul Bettany who mixes the perfect amount of wit, sarcasm and capability. Scarlett Johansson doesn't get a whole lot to do as Natalie, but she does get a great action scene and is also insanely hot so, hey, I'll call this one even.
The standout though is Mickey Rourke as what amounts to basically being Whiplash. Being suitably creepy and unnatural, he captures the essence of a man who believes that his family has been wronged and will do anything to set it right. Hell, so is Sam Rockwell who gets to play the less cool version of Tony Stark but handles it all so right that he is able to go toe to toe with Downey Jr. whenever they?re on screen together. It's just a shame that the villains aren't used as often as they could be.
The action scenes are few but each of them raise the pulse and keep you on the edge of your seat. All of them are perfectly pulled off, spectacularly cool and look great too. The CGI blends effortlessly, even more so than in Iron Man 1 which shows how far technology has come in two years. The camera work is also much more vastly improved by not always going for the good old reliable shaky cam.
Unfortunately, there are some hiccups. Whilst the stand-off with Iron Man and Rhodey against (REMOVED FOR SPOILERS) is every bit as cool as it sounds, the resulting final showdown that follows leaves a little to be desired. Kind of like the first film. Also, whilst the fact that the film is actually more of a character piece than a proper superhero movie (and is so much better for it), the film still drags just a little in the second act. Just like in the first movie. Only here there's also a birthday party that I'm not going to spoil for you, but depending on the viewer it'll either be really well done or embarrassingly cringe worthy. In case you're wondering, I was the former.
In fact, the main problem with the film is that it's a bit too much like the first. The immediate shock to the system that Iron Man was more of a character piece isn't as shocking here in the sequel. It plays it straight down the line and doesn't really take too many risks or do much different, save for the more interesting and entertaining baddies.
Oh, and this didn't affect me too much, but this instalment seems to be a bit nerdier. Some of the plotlines don't get much explanation for those who don't know what people are on about or who they are and they could get left in the dark. That may turn off some of the more mainstream cinema goers but, hey, their loss. Oh, and in case it wasn't obvious, stay through the end credits. I have to echo moviebob's sentiments here. Holy shit! THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!
At the end of the day though, Iron Man 2 is a thoroughly good time at the cinema. I was actually struggling to find criticisms for this film as I sat here typing this up. Is it better than The Dark Knight? Close. Better than Kick-Ass? Maybe. We'll see what the end of year list brings, though Kick-Ass is just edging it right now. But Iron Man 2 is a great sequel and an even better movie. I had fun. My family had fun. And after having sat through expensive, over-hyped mediocrity and seeing Tim Burton's coffin have the last nail dug straight through its heart; that's all you can ask for really.
(But as a "Just in case", take half a point of the score if you aren't slightly familiar with the source material and the universe it inhabits.)
4 out of 5.
