Iron Man 2

*All of you readers stateside are surely aware that Iron Man 2 debuts this coming Friday, May 7. Through some stroke of luck, those of us across the pond were blessed by the fact that it opened here the Friday before, on April 30. Sure enough, I could not resist the allure of seeing it before my brother could; what follows is a review of Old Shellhead's second go-round. :D




SPOILERS AHEAD! DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS!




Batman Begins was good; The Dark Knight was downright great. So too with Terminator and T2, Alien and Aliens, and Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2. It would appear that the trick to avoiding the much dreaded sequel syndrome is to either make a comic book movie or to have James Cameron take over directing duties. Even though Jon Favreau is helming this flick instead of Mr. Avatar, Iron Man 2 ought to be fantastic according to this line of thought, seeing as how Iron Man was one of the best comic book movies ever.

Well, it's good. It's just not great. There were moments throughout the film that had me laughing out loud, pumping my fist, or attempting in vain to prevent from going into a full-blown nerdgasm. However, for all it's snappy dialogue, satisfying action sequences, and downright awesome pieces of fan-service to all the Marvel-ites out there, Iron Man 2 ultimately fails to deliver on its potential. The result is hardly anything to scoff at it, it just never reaches the heights to which its predecessor soared.

The film opens in a dingy Moscow apartment in the dead of winter, where we find Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke, seething Russian through a grill that would put Flavor Flav to shame) tending to his dying father as he watches Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) proclaiming to the world that he is indeed Iron Man. When his father passes away, Vanko does what any self respecting Russian antagonists would do: he drinks a swig of vodka and then builds a super-weapon in five minutes. I don't know about you, but it just feels like there are far too many geniuses in the Marvel universe, all of whom seem to know high level particle physics, astronomical amounts of electrical engineering, and the ins and out of welding, soldering, and "hacking". In my time in college I've only met one guy that has that kind of knowledge (see CM 305, right side), but he's far more interested in listening to really great classic rock than he is in becoming a super-villain. At least that's my hope.

Anyways, over the next half-hour, scribe Justin Theroux fills in the plot and motivations. Apparently, Ivan and Tony's dads were both involved in the creation of the original arc reactor technology, which Tony recreated on a miniaturized scale in the first movie to save his life and become Iron Man. Vanko Sr. decided he wanted to profit from the invention, Stark Sr. said no, Vanko Sr. got deported to Siberia, Vanko Jr. blames Stark Sr. for the death of Vanko Sr., so Vanko Jr. wants to destroy Stark Jr. Clear as day, no?

It's a passable story, but it's not what draws us in. That honor would go instead to the wonderful performances by just about every actor in a major role in this film. Downey Jr. gives a two-hour symposium on why he was born to play Tony Stark, blending ultra fast mumbling, unabashed self-involvement, and winning vulnerability to great effect. Where Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne avoids the spotlight at all costs, Tony absolutely relishes it. If there were to ever be a billionaire playboy superhero, I would place even money on him acting exactly how Stark does. Even though the script puts him in the same situation as he was in the first movie, ie build something to keep himself alive, Downey imparts the role with just as much gusto as before, hitting every note on the register as he jumps from hilarious neuroticism straight to self-assured heroics. His quest to save the world is aided by Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), his confidant and assistant, who manages to balance being flustered by Stark's pre-teen behavior with tough-as-nails love that keeps our crimson and gold crusader on the right track. When Potts is elevated to Stark Enterprises CEO, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) steps in as Tony's personal assitant. She's actually a spy for SHIELD, an international intelligence organization run by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson in a role that's unnecessary for the movie), and Romanoff is the star of the show. She absolutely exudes poise, her reserved demeanor belying the explosive ability and searing sexuality lurking just beneath the surface. Every scene that's she's in is an absolute treat, each of her lines coming out in a clipped, efficient cadence that's insanely attractive. All of this is to not even mention that she has the best action scene that a Marvel character has had since Nightcrawler made a mockery of the White House's security team back in X-Men 2.

As the movie continues, we're introduced to Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), a seedy industrialist who is clearly used to playing second fiddle to Tony in every department. He's just a little shorter, a little less at ease, and a lot skeazier. Hammer teams with Vanko after watching Ivan humiliate Tony Stark on the streets of Monaco during a Formula 1 race, all in an attempt to vindicate his own inadequacy by destroying everything that Tony has built. Rockwell's over the top embrace of his character's inferiority complex makes his scenes great fun to watch, as he does everything he can to tighten the vice on Tony. The movie even explores penis envy with Stark and Hammer artillery as proxies; you'll know the scene I'm talking about when you see it.

Rounding out the big players is Rhodey (Don Cheadle), Stark's air force colonel buddy. Tasked with making sure that Tony stay in check, Rhodey eventually comes by an older edition of the Iron Man suit. Hammer pimps it out for a military showcase at Stark's Expo, and, predictably, it's really good at blowing shit up. The addition of War Machine was nice as fan service, but was not integral to the movie's plot. Two other famous Marvelites makes tangential appearances in the film, as we're treated to a view of Mjolnir in a New Mexico crater and a certain shield being used as a paperweight. Come 2012, when the Avengers movie debuts, I'm sure we'll see more from these two characters.

Though I rail against his inclusion, there is, admittedly, one absolutely gorgeous shot with Iron Man and War Machine standing back to back on the side of a terraced hill, cherry blossom petals swirling around them like some Japanese revenge flick. The camera pans out to show the impending danger advancing on their position, pausing for one perfect moment, where all is still save for the gently falling petals. Predictably, it is at this moment that all hell breaks loose, and the movie regains its breakneck pace.

Another one of the movie's finest shots comes when Vanko is initally making his way onto the track at Monaco in an attempt to kill Stark. Having constructed an arc-reactor powered exoskeleton complete with plasma charged bullwhips, Vanko turns the device on as he lumbers menacingly onto the fairway. The searing heat from the plasma ignites the jacket that he's wearing over the device, and the fabric bursts into flames right on his back. Vanko doesn't even pause as his bad-ass meter soars skyward.

Despite all these positive aspects, the movie admittedly suffers merely from having to stand in the shadow of the nearly perfect original Iron Man movie. The hefty emotional resonance of a broken man working to make the best of his second chance at a decent life is difficult to match, though Downey musters everything he can in an ultimately vain attempt to recapture that pureness of sentiment. In the middle of the movie, Tony is looking through his father's work for clues on an undiscovered element. After hours of puzzling over the challenge, he finally has a breakthrough upon seeing a certain physical model that his father built 30 years ago. As he quickly pieces together the message that his father hid for him to one day discover, he laughs to himself, saying, "Dead 20 years and he's still taking me to school." Though the heir may succeed in its own right, it is still ultimately measured against the standard set by its predecessor. As with Tony, so too with Iron Man 2.

Final Rating - 3 Stars out of 4 Possible