Review: Iron Man 2
Sequels are dicey choices for movie fans; either they're following up a bad movie so they aren't given a fair chance or an unexpected good one, so the expectations are too high.
Iron Man 2 falls into the latter category -- there was a lot of noise about it likely being a bad film, and surprisingly it won over many audience members. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has managed to master his suit, defeat the bad guys and become an international hero. Unsurprisingly, Iron Man has become a pop icon since there are no bad guys left to risk the wrath of Iron Man. He cockily dismisses government attempts to take control of the technology, especially after rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) fails miserably in replicating similar suits. Only all is not well, especially when someone else (Mickey Rourke) has the original technology, and is out for Stark's blood.
Stark is perhaps one of the most vainglorious characters on film, with hubris and brains to back it up. Downey again proves he's more than capable of making Stark equally aggravating, entertaining and sympathetic. In fact, the entire cast is full out outstanding actors a lot of people would pay just to read the phone book, but luckily for us, they do a lot more than that. Don Cheadle has taken over the role of Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes and Cheadle has always had the knack of standing up to larger than life co-stars. Along the same lines, Gwyneth Paltrow again has to balance exasperation with adoration as she tries to keep her boss and unrequited crush from ruining his company.
New characters include Ivan Vanko, the son of the co-inventor behind the suit's technology. Rourke's menacing appearance is well suited to the character, particularly his intense focus as he seeks revenge against the son of the man whom he feels betrayed his father. Sam Rockwell goes back to his tried-and-true weasel characters with Hammer, Stark's business rival, complete with self-tanning hands and excessive demonstrations of extravagance. Scarlett Johansson, not known for being an athlete, trained for months to take on the physically challenging role of Natalie, and she does it well. She'll have most of the fanboys (and some girls) salivating after her after they see her in action.
Director and co-star Jon Favreau clearly loves the Iron Man franchise, and while acknowledging it's a comic book movie, he's made very deliberate choices in casting and what to include in the second installment. Favreau has established himself as a director who likes his films with heart, whether family fare (Zathura), comedy (Elf), or action (Iron Man). He continues that trend with Iron Man 2 with bad guys with sympathetic motivations, almost to the point you wish they could just talk it out. But that wouldn't be an action comic movie, would it?
With a strong, extravagant start and finish, the middle is arguably slower, which may seem like a fault, but some of us enjoy some character development with our films. At the special screening at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar, the worst audience comment this reviewer heard was, "Meh, it was only good." With such praising damnation, chances are Iron Man 2 is likely to do well.
When you do see Iron Man 2, and you should, keep in mind that again there is a stinger scene after the credits.