Iron Man 2 (2010)

D: Jon Favreau
W: Justin Theroux
C: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, etc.

I thought the first one was pretty good overall, had it's obvious flaws and rested too much on the shoulders of Downey Jr.'s performance, but even despite that I found it to be one of the best comic book films in quite awhile. I didn't plan to watch Iron Man 2 in the cinemas at first, but curiosity and impatience got the best of me.

The main reason I find any enjoyment in watching these films is Robert Downey Jr. He is the film and that hasn't changed with the sequel. This man's career and life was in the shitter at one point and the man has risen from that as someone who takes nothing for granted and bares a kind of aura of complete indifference. He brings spice and attitude to a performance and treats it as if it were his last. With that said, the character is treated way too lightly in this installment, setting it off balance and tilting it towards cheap amusement rather than something more meaningful as in the first film. Yes the character was essentially dying, but this film never manages to create a real sense of drama despite the character's predicament.

The other phoenix actor in Iron Man 2 is of course Mickey Rourke. His career was even worse off than Downey's at one point, but certain people believed in his talent and the guy made an incredible comeback. While his Russian accent is the usual sloppy American take on it, the man has a presence about him. I know some people hated those whips of his when they first saw the trailer, but personally I found his weaponry pretty badass. While some of his slow-motion stuff is friggin' awesome, some of it doesn't make any sense whatsoever, like the crash behind him on the Monaco Grand Prix track for example. The man is greatly underutilized in this film. The character ultimately comes off as too emotionless and as a man of few words, in other words just poor. The end of the film was definitely more exciting than in the first one, but this certainly had room for improvement as well. As Obadiah Stane in Iron Man, Ivan Vanko is an underdeveloped villain.

I can't stand shallow films and both films have that kind of aura to them. It's a blockbuster in the most direct sense of the word and while it does provide a good enough plot and solid entertainment, it can't shake off that smell. I don't give a shit how many real life personalities they throw into the mix, it's not something that adds believability, it's just a meaningless connection to our own reality. The use of licensed music comes off as a little tacky, cos it's more about waving the money dick than actually having the right song play at the right moment. The best use of a licensed track has got to be Daft Punk and "Robot Rock", which fit the fight scene very nicely. The whole AC/DC campaign is as shameful as a cash-in can get though. Would've been perfectly normal to use those two tracks without releasing a whole compilation album + DVD and a music video. Don't get me wrong I love AC/DC and the songs fit the film's attitude, but that Iron Man 2 album is just fucking disgraceful. Aerosmith had 4 songs on Armageddon (including one original track) and no Aerosmith Armageddon album was necessary, to give you an example.

Supporting cast is nice, but most of them don't provide a memorable performance. Pretty much all of them are there to fill a spot and that's embarrassingly true for especially Don Cheadle. None of the side characters are developed enough to warrant any emotional investment. Gwyneth Paltrow and Sam Rockwell are the only one's who serve an actual purpose, while Paltrow remains a little disconnected as in the first film, but Rockwell provides both comic relief and plays a good conniving loser. Scarlett Johansson has a nice fighting sequence, heavy on wire use, but nice nonetheless.

I like Justin Theroux more as an actor than a writer to be honest and the same goes for director/writer Jon Favreau. Dialogue does the job and then there are those witty comebacks of Tony Stark, but I remember the first one as a more polished package in that regard. The main problem with this film is that it's more shallow, more smoke than fire, so to speak. A potentially great sequel is tipped towards quick and easy popcorn entertainment and once again the film relies too heavily on Tony Stark's character and Robert Downey Jr.'s performance. A few plot holes here and there don't help either. In a nutshell, it's even more off balance than the first one.

6/10