When it comes to the super hero film genre, there is always a lot of anticipation for any and all of their upcoming films. With IRON MAN 2, the level of waiting and bottled-up joy almost could have caused the film to suffer a meltdown. The original film transcended beyond the Hulks and the Blades and cemented a future popularity and base for a franchise.
IRON MAN 2 is good, just not as great as you might have wished. It gets the job done in continuing the characters and stories, just unable to remodel the original's action thrills and actually have powerful villains as probable threats. Downey Jr. is still the star and showcase, but as the script is shown, the only thing that poses a threat to Tony Stark is only Stark himself.
Stark, like the Iron Man character in our real world, has become a spectacle for the American public. His recklessness and narcissism is constantly increasing as everyone follows his every word and appearance. His live hard - die hard lifestyle is completely true; Stark's technology is tainting his physical capabilities and appearance. He pushes his morality to the brink and throws his remaining life away. To be another annoyance to his life, a violent Russian (Mickey Rourke) is planning for his death along with a competing arms manufacturer (Sam Rockwell).
The script's fan service to the classic "Demon in a Bottle" and "Armor Wars" comic stories is nice, just not truly worth having. So much of the time will have the viewer taking in dialogue exchanges, bureaucratic threats, techno-babbles, and daddy issues. The action scenes are spread far out from each other. The film's world is more pessimistic and cynical. And yet, the film is still good in my opinion.
IRON MAN 2 wants to be a pioneering type of a sequel: raise the word, not the action. The slow burn may annoy but it is amazing how risky Jon Favreau is giving this product to us. He wants our attention on the people, not the heroes and villains. This is best displayed in the fact that Rourke is never named Whiplash or the fact that the War Machine name is a dig at James Rhodes' status as American first, friend second.
Though Downey Jr. continues his great acting in this, the supporters get some good spotlights. Rourke and Rockwell were great with their takes of classic Iron Man villains. Rourke is creepy and frightening as a physical and mental warrior. Rockwell, like the direction and script, slowly burns Justin Hammer with his awkwardness up front hiding his pure misanthropic nature inside. Samuel Jackson's Nick Fury is sometimes too flamboyant but Scarlet Johannson plays the Black Widow just right. Don Cheadle is also a good and better substitute for Terence Howard.
IRON MAN 2 simply is good and entertaining but the emphasis of drama over action is odd and scary for theater-goers. Still, you will enjoy it thoroughly and you will again wait after the credits for the next big thing in the Marvel movie universe.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
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