Review: Iron Man 2

Tony Stark has been a major player in the Marvel comic universe for the past five years or so, whether as himself or as his alter-ego, Iron Man. He’s one of the most interesting and conflicted characters in Marvel comics, his intelligence and futurist beliefs leading him into morally dubious actions while his libido frequently puts him into the arms of too many women he should not be intimate with – and all the time his history of alcoholism and obsessive/compulsive behaviour lurks menacingly.

Nevertheless, when Marvel Studios (the movie production arm of Marvel) decided to launch itself with Iron Man two years ago, it was a brave move because Iron Man was not, then, a brand with worldwide recognition. But it was a brilliant decision: the first film of the summer, it generated great reviews, repeat business and truly boffo boxoffice.

That film’s success was grounded in strong foundations: a well-updated, perfectly paced screenplay, inspired direction by hitherto lightweight Jon Favreau, and a classy heavyweight cast that really believed in the characters and the material. Frankly, it was the sort of a truly crowd-pleasing summer action flick that it appeared Hollywood had forgotten how to make.

The icing on the cake was the casting of Robert Downey Jnr, revelling in a role he was born to play. His performance was such that it’s impossible to think of anyone who could have done it better.

Thus Iron Man 2 arrives with heavy expectation from the general cinema-going population and this comic geek in particular. And while there is much to enjoy, this sequel fails both to meet that expectation and hit the heights of the original.

Starting with the good stuff, Downey Jnr is still on fine form, grandstanding when he gets the chance, and riddled with neuroses when he’s down. The whiplash dialogue between him and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is a lovely throwback to the His Girl Friday-era, and generates real sparks while at the same time revealing the history between the two.

The humour of the first film is carried over successfully – a combination of genuine humour generated by the story and the characters and also a deliberate attempt to ground the film in reality by demythologising the superhero (the throwaway use of Captain America’s shield is outstanding).

Paltrow clearly enjoys her verbal sparring with Downey Jnr, but comes away with a beefed-up role that somehow gives her less to work with (but boy does she look good?!).

Don Cheadle’s replacement of Terence Howard as Rhodey/War Machine is seamless, while Samuel L Jackson, in two telling scenes, completely owns his role of SHIELD director Nick Fury. Scarlett Johansson gets the film’s stand-out scene: as SHIELD agent Natasha Romanoff (complete with red hair and skin-tight black jumpsuit, but thankfully no cod-Russian accent), she takes down eight men in the time it takes Happy (Favreau, who gives himself more to do in this film, but mostly playing as a humorous foil to the other characters) Hogan to finish off one. This scene is brilliantly conceived, shot and edited, and gets closest to the modern comic book look, and is the only time Natasha is given due prominence – the script fails to make the most of her.

Traditionally, Tony Stark/Iron Man has two types of adversary: rival industrialists that want to take over Stark Industries, and maniacs that want to take down Iron Man. This film has both: Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer and Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Vanko/Whiplash respectively. Rockwell is a humourously incompetent multi-billionaire weapons manufacturer and the inverse of Tony Stark: a loser with women, low on charisma, somewhat effete, and the maker of weapons that don’t always work. Rockwell chews the scenery to marvellous effect.

The same can’t be said of Rourke’s Whiplash. In the comics, Whiplash was never a major player, so the decision to use him in the sequel is a strange one. Rourke certainly brings a presence, a gravitas to the role – but is then given little to do.

More than anything, what lets the film down is the script. Its attempt to adapt the Demon In A Bottle story from the late 70s (in which Tony is overcome by his alcoholism and damn near loses everything) and to draw on elements on the recent Stark Disassembled run is brave, especially this early on in the audience’s relationship with the character. I’m not saying it’s the wrong move, but certainly the execution, specifically the pacing, runs like a fault line through the movie. Simply, the film takes a long time to get going, almost as if it were just the first half of a five-hour sequel. Let’s be clear, for a summer action movie, there’s a distinct lack of action.

A third edition of Iron Man is not due until at least 2013 (after The Avengers movie hits screens in 2012). I hope the production team learn their lessons from this one, and return to the sleek and lean approach that helped the first film. And they’re going to need to overcome the film’s outcome for the Tony/Pepper relationship.

But back to Iron Man 2: a score is called for. While it’s nowhere near as successful as the first in terms of pure entertainment, the essentials are still there: Downey still is Stark. It has faults, yes, but it also has successes, and as much as its bravery backfires, I still admire the film’s bravery. And to put it in context, I don’t feel soiled and abused like I did after Quantum of Solace – it’s not that much of a letdown. I’ll be queuing round the block for Tony’s next outing.

Oh, and if you’re a comic geek, you need to stay until the very end to see the post-credits sequence… Nuff said!
Score: 7/10