*Directed by Jon Favreau
*Starring Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johannson, Samuel L Jackson, Mickey Rourke, Clark Gregg, Garry Shandling
The Plot: Taking place six months after the events of Iron Man, a Russian scientist named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) is plotting revenge against Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) with sheer intellect creating weapons of mass destruction in an attempt to wipe out Tony and all he's built while also forced into collaboration with Tony's competitor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell).
I remember being really hyped for this movie almost ten years ago being a fan of the first movie as well as The Incredible Hulk. I watched the trailer multiple times! It looked bigger and better than the first film by a landslide! The shots with Iron Man and War Machine in action just blew my mind! I couldn't wait! I still have fond memories of the anticipation and finally seeing it opening weekend. I knew this movie would be everything, right?...Right?
Well, the elements that do still work about this movie are definitely in its performances. Robert Downey Jr was born for this role and Gwyneth Paltrow surely gives it her all. Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard I thought was a very good choice to portray Rhody whom you could really buy into the friendship between him and Tony. Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer I thought was really fun and funny in his role. The back and forths he had with Mickey Rourke’s Vanko were definitely highlights for me. Some great witty banter in those scenes and of course with Pepper and Tony as well. I’m saving to talk more about Rourke and Scarlett Johansson because there’s a bit more to them that I’ll get into later.
The spectacle of this movie is also really solid. The action scenes are still wildly entertaining and deliver on giving the film a good bit of fun energy when needed. The third act, in particular, with Iron Man, War Machine, and the drones was a pretty solid blast to sit through and enjoy. Really I won’t deny that there is some fun to be had with this sequel in general. But unfortunately, these are the only big positives I can give about this movie because Iron Man 2 is a very mediocre movie and if you really think about factoring the other Marvel movies in, it’s a pretty insignificant entry.
One of my biggest problems is that this movie seemed to ignore the really important character arc that Tony had in the first film. He’s basically back where he started with his inflated ego, and what’s worse is that it feels even more prevalent here. Like one of the subplots is that the arc reactor is slowly killing him and in order for him to live out his days he makes a complete ass out of himself. He later on finds a cure for himself and changes his persona once again like in the first film. So why was that plot-point at all necessary?
The Plot: Taking place six months after the events of Iron Man, a Russian scientist named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) is plotting revenge against Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) with sheer intellect creating weapons of mass destruction in an attempt to wipe out Tony and all he's built while also forced into collaboration with Tony's competitor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell).
I remember being really hyped for this movie almost ten years ago being a fan of the first movie as well as The Incredible Hulk. I watched the trailer multiple times! It looked bigger and better than the first film by a landslide! The shots with Iron Man and War Machine in action just blew my mind! I couldn't wait! I still have fond memories of the anticipation and finally seeing it opening weekend. I knew this movie would be everything, right?...Right?
Well, the elements that do still work about this movie are definitely in its performances. Robert Downey Jr was born for this role and Gwyneth Paltrow surely gives it her all. Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard I thought was a very good choice to portray Rhody whom you could really buy into the friendship between him and Tony. Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer I thought was really fun and funny in his role. The back and forths he had with Mickey Rourke’s Vanko were definitely highlights for me. Some great witty banter in those scenes and of course with Pepper and Tony as well. I’m saving to talk more about Rourke and Scarlett Johansson because there’s a bit more to them that I’ll get into later.
The spectacle of this movie is also really solid. The action scenes are still wildly entertaining and deliver on giving the film a good bit of fun energy when needed. The third act, in particular, with Iron Man, War Machine, and the drones was a pretty solid blast to sit through and enjoy. Really I won’t deny that there is some fun to be had with this sequel in general. But unfortunately, these are the only big positives I can give about this movie because Iron Man 2 is a very mediocre movie and if you really think about factoring the other Marvel movies in, it’s a pretty insignificant entry.
One of my biggest problems is that this movie seemed to ignore the really important character arc that Tony had in the first film. He’s basically back where he started with his inflated ego, and what’s worse is that it feels even more prevalent here. Like one of the subplots is that the arc reactor is slowly killing him and in order for him to live out his days he makes a complete ass out of himself. He later on finds a cure for himself and changes his persona once again like in the first film. So why was that plot-point at all necessary?
He puts himself in danger in a racecar derby and he becomes drunk at what he thinks will be his last birthday party. Like these motivations are so out of character. Where's the proper humanity?
You would think he would do something more meaningful for himself. It would’ve definitely given the film more of an emotional pull if maybe he made a speech at his party about how much Pepper and Rhody meant to him. But no, he had to be drunk, so Rhody could barge in an Iron Man suit and we get our first introduction to War Machine. We have to be reminded he’ll have a mainstay in this franchise, which leads into my next issue.
The only reason to introduce War Machine and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow while including Nick Fury and Agent Coulson is to set up more movies in this franchise. It just feels obvious that because of these added scenes on top such a mediocrely written screenplay that this movie was supposed to act as a cash grab. The first Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were both released in the summer of 2008 with no movies from this franchise releasing in 2009 and Thor and Captain America were due out in Summer 2011. So obviously Iron Man 2 had to release a year before the more important films in the franchise were released.
I mentioned Black Widow earlier and while I do like Scarlett Johansson as an actress I really felt that her character was shoehorned in there and I hate to reference later Marvel movies, but I've seen a really solid character with layers and not just there as merely eye-candy. This movie made her only feel like eye-candy, which really bites because female characters presented in this caliber as an action heroine deserves so much more than that. I really love the personality Johansson brings to this character in later installments, so this movie honestly felt like a slap in the face in regards to giving us strong female characters that shouldn't just be there just to look attractive and kick butt.
I don't even have to get into Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko much because I could literally cut and paste what I put about Obadiah Stane in Iron Man and Tim Roth's Abomination from The Incredible Hulk. Just another one dimensional villain that gets a conflict going and the film makes no effort to do anything more with that. I even heard an interview recently with Mickey Rourke stating how disappointed he was with the final turnout of this villain, so that shows you there that he cared about the project and wanted to give the character layers. He even said Downey and Favreau really put in the effort to bring him on board for this role. I think all these actors portraying these villains are wonderful, but honestly, I'll say it once and I'll say it again, they deserved better.
Iron Man 2 isn't a bad film, not even a horrible one at that, but it was a vast missed opportunity since it's predecessor was a really wonderful, well-directed, and fun summer blockbuster that also had heart. This time around it felt like they were scrambling to just get a superhero movie out in the theater to earn a few bucks. Even though some very entertaining action and top notch performances can make the experience less painful, the idea that there's no true significance and emotional resonance for this overall story in the franchise makes it a lesser film.
Verdict: C
There's really no need for this film to exist and honestly I don't think I would watch it again because of how let down I was from this recent viewing. It was certainly a lot worse than I remembered, but it had its moments and there are far worse films out there. Also, if someone were watching these Marvel movies for the first time I wouldn't recommend this movie at all. I could still watch it, it's not painful, but compared to the greatness in other Marvel films it's hard not to be disappointed.
So be on the lookout for my review of 2011's Thor next week.
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