The first Iron Man was a movie that essentially came from nowhere. The movie had few expectations and while people were optimistic, most just didn't know what to expect from it. Yet, it was subsequently released with almost universal critical praise and had the box office receipts to back up that assertion. So it was no surprise when a second movie was fast tracked for this upcoming weekend.
Except now there are expectations that weren't present before. A sequel to a successful movie usually has quite lofty expectations at that. But while Iron Man 2 didn't quite live up to those expectations, that didn't stop it from being an incredibly fun action movie that actually improves on the first in certain aspects.
Obviously everyone knows that Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark/Iron Man, who is relishing the fact that he is this worldwide superhero with none of the anguish of most characters who are forced into a double life. The fact that he accepts his dual role in the public eye makes him a different, and often times more entertaining, hero. Yet, he unfortunately is dealing with his power source that keeps him alive as the element that powers it is slowly poisoning his body. A battle he is content to deal with on his own.
Meanwhile, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), the son of a disgraced former colleague of Tony's father, takes the arc reactor technology and builds himself a similar armor and lives with the sole purpose of destroying Tony Stark in retaliation for what happened to his father. After he becomes bankrolled by Tony's business rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), the two work together to not only eclipse Tony Stark but also the Iron Man armor itself.
There is no question that the action is ramped up tremendously in this sequel. Several armored battles take place in a number of different locales that ratchet up the intensity from the first movie in which it was essentially Iron Man and Iron Monger bashing each other over and over again. The addition of War Machine into the mix, played by Don Cheadle who replaces Terrence Howard (which in my opinion is absolutely an upgrade), adds a level of teamwork that certainly works to make things more exciting. Because what's better than one Iron Man than two of them?
In addition, the humor quotient also seems to be much higher. For better or worse, this is a funnier movie than the first one. Almost all the characters seem to have funny lines, many of which appear to be rambling ad-libs that just happened to work for the scene. There's certainly a sense of fun that permeates the tone of the whole movie, but also emanates from the entire cast. The actors are all fantastic, including Scarlett Johansson, whose ability to fight and have screen presence against all these other acting heavyweights was quite a surprise. Every scene on its own was incredibly entertaining in its own right.
The problem lies is when you put it all together, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. The interesting thing about Tony Stark in the first movie was the fact that here was this war profiteer who couldn't seem to care about anyone but himself until he was placed in a situation that made him change his ways. His realization that weapons manufacturing was only causing problems within the world was the driving force behind who Iron Man was. Once that solution was created, he became the man he is in this movie. In addition to the fact that Obidiah Stane was Tony's mentor and friend. The fact that he ultimately betrays Tony creates a sense of connection in their final battle. And there's no such connection in this movie.
Yes, Hammer and Vanko are people who want to see Tony Stark destroyed, but he doesn't really care. They could be anyone. They are formidable foes to be sure, but there's not really any sense of connection between them. Vanko clearly has it out for Tony which certainly makes the audience understand where he is coming from, but this really poses no personal struggle for Stark. The only personal struggle in this movie is a slightly shoehorned-in subplot about Tony trying to connect with his long deceased father that ultimately rings flat. His only struggle is really to either accept his death at the hands of this thing that is keeping him alive or find a way to fix it. But at the end of the day, he's still essentially the same person.
This isn't the fault of any of the actors, who were all fantastic, or even Jon Favreau, whose direction is once again spot on. This is really the fault of screenwriter Justin Theroux, who fails to provide a narrative track upon which to follow and puts in too many characters without clearly defined narrative arcs. There is just this lack of cohesive focus that the first film had in spades. That's not to say there wasn't any at all, and by no means was the screenplay bad, it just lacked a connective tissue to give it more thematic weight.
Fortunately though, the film delivers a fantastic start to the summer movie-going season and is definitely another well-received entry into the Marvel universe. The way this Marvel Movie Universe is coming together, spearheaded by Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury, holds a lot of promise if done right. The movie was solid entertainment, even if it was a baby step back from the first film. Hopefully Favreau finds the time to tighten up the screenplay for the inevitable third installment of Iron Man to truly eclipse the first two.
GRADE: B
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