Movie Review: Iron Man 2

In 2008, while movie goers were anxiously waiting for the release of the The Dark Knight a character practically nobody had heard of, outside of comic book readers, made his film debut.  Iron Man was the first of a chain of films Marvel Studios was planning to make, ending with all the characters woven into one film; The Avengers.  Starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man was a huge success, and now Iron Man 2 has hit theaters.  Marvel Studios hopes their sequel does well enough so audiences will keep watching the Marvel universe up on the big screen.

It’s been 6 months since the events of Iron Man and Tony Stark as become a huge star by helping make the world safer.  So much in fact that every corporation is trying to copy his Iron Man suit, and the government is trying to force Stark to hand it over.  A mysterious Russian named Ivan Vanko soon teams up with one of Starks rivals, Justin Hammer, and they’re looking to take everything Tony has.

However, Tony doesn’t need Vanko and Hammer’s help to lose everything since he is slowly dying and living like there is no tomorrow.  Can the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. help Tony before it’s too late?  Of course the real question of the film is what is going to kill Tony first; death or Vanko? 

To satisfy both of my passions I’m going to have to dissect this film two ways; first as a film sequel, and then as a comic book film.  Iron Man 2 seemed to be lacking some of the heart the first film was filled with.  Everyone seemed to be stepping on each other’s lines, so you couldn’t really get all the great one liners I’m sure were being said. This could be a way to get people to watch the film a second time; each time getting something new out of it.  Unfortunately I’m only grading it by the first impression.

Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow stepped back into their roles with ease and showed that their characters have grown since we last saw them.  Don Cheadle takes over for Terrance Howard as Colonel James Rhodes.  Cheadle pulls off Rhodes evolution in this film nicely and gave fans a little more in this film.  Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson round-out the good guys with some small, but distinct performances.  Samuel L. Jackson is always, well, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson earned her first name by making each scene a little hotter just by being in it.  She didn’t have too many speaking parts, but I didn’t mind.  Mrs. Reynolds does in this film what she’s good at; kicking ass and looking hot.

In this film the show stealers, like most superhero films, were the bad guys.  Mickey Rourke played Vanko as a creepy tough guy, but something tells me it’s not hard for Rourke since he always plays that kind of guy.  But I was surprised at how much I liked Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer.  He played a rich weasel very well, and I hope to see him in further Marvel films.  As a sequel I enjoyed watching the next chapter in these characters lives.  It wasn’t as fun as the first, and I feel like they tried to be a little much to be better, but not enjoyable.  Most franchises drop the ball on the third film, so we’ll see what director Jon Favreau has in store for this trilogy.

Now I will present a view of the film from my nastier side.  As a comic book film Iron Man 2 was still enjoyable.  It was no The Dark Knight, but it wasn’t Batman & Robin either.  It had some good action, a little humor, and some cool villains.  The returning cast did a great job portraying their characters, and I was also happy to see Happy Hogan get a bigger role, even if it was the film’s director who played him.  The only two characters I was disappointed with were the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Nick Fury and The Black Widow.

Ultimate Nick Fury was based on Samuel L. Jackson so to see him play this part on screen is awesome.  However there were a few spots where Fury seemed a little too happy or comical.  That’s not Fury.  Nick Fury is always level-headed, serious, and only yells in the heat of battle.  Jackson better brush up on his own character before taking on The Avengers. 

The Black Widow is a red-headed-Russian-spy who works for Fury, and even though she is supposed to be undercover, I didn’t hear a Russian accent once.  I was worried about Johansson from the beginning, but luckily she didn’t act as much as she jumped around.  I don’t care if I did get to see her in a black bra, Johansson better start drinking some vodka and see if that helps her accent.  I want to hear The Black Widow tongue I hear in my head when I read Captain America.

So there you have two sides to Iron Man 2.  I look forward to not only the next Iron Man film, but the next Marvel Studio film as well.  If you go and see just remember what every geek knows; Marvel films aren’t over until a few minutes after the credits role.  Trust me true believers. 

RATING:  B