A rock star hero with narcissistic tendencies. A revenge-thirsty physicist villain with a special suit equipped with electric lightening whips as weapons. An impossibly sexy assistant for rock star who isn’t who she says she is. A seedy senator and greedy US government eager to get their hands on rock star’s “weapon” suit. A palladium core imbedded in our hero’s chest necessary to keep him alive that is poisoning his blood, slowly killing him. Welcome to the first 45 minutes of Iron Man 2.
More plot will be added in the second half – but don’t expect this second installment of the franchise to be weighed down or tired. Fret not about director Jon Favreau dizzying the film with superfluous shots or shoving story down your throat, because he won’t. Don’t be intimidated by an almost entirely Oscar-recognized cast, most of their best recent work in this film. Iron Man 2 is so entertaining, you’ll forget how well done is.
The release of any sequel following a wildly successful predecessor is nearly impossible to live up to. But Iron Man 2 is a spine-tingling adventure, artful and well-designed enough to take it’s seat with comic book sequels like The Dark Knight and Spider Man 2.
Everything has grown since the first film. Public approval of Iron Man/Tony Stark (played by the always endearing Robert Downey Jr.) has reached new heights - as has Stark’s ego. Claiming the world’s longest peaceful run due to Iron Man, Stark charms a courtroom and walks out of a senate hearing before dismissal, blowing kisses at the cameras.
All of this film’s characters have motives of their own, even some closest to Iron Man. At Stark’s birthday party, buddy Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) steals a superhero suit for the government, after a drunken Stark uses his suit to shoot watermelons into pieces in front of an excited crowd (all this after Stark calling attention to urinating – yes, urinating – in the suit).
Stories oscillate from Ivan building warrior drones for Hammer and the US government to shame Stark at his own expo, to Stark searching for a solution to his palladium health problem. And audiences will embrace Stark’s self-described “sold-ish” relationship with Pepper, watching her squirm with envy as he hires Natalie (a seductive Scarlett Johansson) as secretary after Tony hands Pepper the keys to Stark Enterprises.
The strongest scenes shine with comeback kid Mickey Rourke, who plays villain Ivan Ranko to perfection. Seeking revenge for a dead father who was shamed by Stark Sr., Ivan harnesses electrical energy in a contraption to rival Iron Man’s suit. After Stark’s technology rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) bails Ivan out of jail in an attempt to join forces against Iron Man, one wonders how long Ivan will play nice with Hammer – especially when he greets Ivan for the first time with a mouthful of food and wearing a napkin as a bib.
Not a beat is missed in this movie. All hail to comedic actors turned-directors (Ben Stiller very much included) who know how to conceptualize a film and work with actors. Favreau’s second Iron Man installment will leave very few people wanting more. More action. More comedy. More pitch-perfect dialogue or back and forth banter. Crucial fight sequences between Iron Man and Ranko will leave audiences cheering.
If moviegoers stick around for the credits, as all gracious and grateful audience members should, they just might get a taste of Iron Man 3 sequel set-up. Fitting for Favreau to tease Iron Man fans with a scene as they’re exiting the theatre. Every rock star leaves the stage at least once before rushing back for a crowd-pleasing encore.
- Hillary Smotherman
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