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There's something about Iron Man that feels more real than other superheroes. Perhaps it's the heft of his suit and its accompanying sound effects, or the fact that all of his "powers" have a quasi-scientific basis. If nothing else, you have to admire a guy who makes engineering cool. How many superheroes are a walking advertisement for the benefits of paying attention in math class?
Iron Man 2 picks up where the previous film left off; with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) giving his impulsive confession that he's the guy everyone's seen clanging around in Gryffindor gold and red. This time, we see this scene from the perspective of Ivan Venko (Mickey Rourke), a Russian engineer. His ingenuity and rise to prominence is an appropriate mirror for Stark's own rebirth in the first film's caves of Afghanistan. Now on top of the world, Stark can't entirely compete with the hungrier geniuses below him on the food chain.
Nevertheless, Stark's charming arrogance in Iron Man reaches new heights here, as he fearlessly provokes government officials during a Senate hearing and boasts that he's "successfully privatized world peace." His suit, he maintains, is not a weapon but an extension of himself, and his swaggering presence has supplanted nuclear weaponry as a deterrent -- call it mutually self-assured destruction.
It will surprise no one to learn that Stark's rampant pride goeth before a fall, though that this fall will come in a Formula One racing car sliced in half by what can only be described as "Laser Whips" is a bit harder to guess. Venko uses this creation merely to take Stark down a peg, and suggests that he deliberately allowed him to survive so that the rest of the world would see his vulnerability and do the rest of the job for him. But they don't. The rest of the film proceeds in much the same manner: intriguing problems crop up briefly, but none of them ever reach the point of actual peril.
What the obstacles lack in threat they try to make up in number. As with every superhero sequel, the villains must multiply, though whether or not you can call rival defense contractor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) a "villain" is debatable. Aside from being a waste of Rockwell's considerable talents, the character is completely unthreatening. Stark's story would have benefited greatly from the introduction of a smart, worthy industrial adversary, but instead we get a comically inept ankle biter who's no match for Stark's technology, publicity, or wit. Venko is a good deal more intimidating, but his methods and motives are muddled and he spends half of the film behind a monitor.
As the villains multiply, so too do the heroes. Scarlett Johansson's value comes from her shape more than her depth, though she's really just another link to the larger Marvel universe in store, for which there are plenty of easter eggs for the eagle-eyed. Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard as Lt. Col. James Rhodes, who finds his way into one of Stark's prototype suits often enough that the film could have been called Iron Men.
The action is fun and dense, though not terribly inventive. The bulk of every conflict still involves giant hunks of metal clanging into each other while beams of light and energy fly around chaotically. If you can't afford a ticket, you can simulate these scenes by turning on a strobe light and putting a pile of silverware in the dryer.
The dialogue isn't nearly as sharp as that of its predecessor, but it still skewers effectively and Downey makes the most of every word.
There's still plenty to like here, however. Real things of real consequence happen in the film's third act, and Stark genuinely evolves as a character. Between meaningful arcs and necessary reboots in other comic book franchises, it's clear that today's audiences just won't embrace a static protagonist, a fact which may get in the way of Stark's charming debauchery the next time out.
Between the womanizing, the stylish suits, and the pithy one-liners, Tony Stark is the closest thing Marvel has to James Bond. The nice thing is, he builds his own gadgets, too.
Iron Man 2 picks up where the previous film left off; with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) giving his impulsive confession that he's the guy everyone's seen clanging around in Gryffindor gold and red. This time, we see this scene from the perspective of Ivan Venko (Mickey Rourke), a Russian engineer. His ingenuity and rise to prominence is an appropriate mirror for Stark's own rebirth in the first film's caves of Afghanistan. Now on top of the world, Stark can't entirely compete with the hungrier geniuses below him on the food chain.
Nevertheless, Stark's charming arrogance in Iron Man reaches new heights here, as he fearlessly provokes government officials during a Senate hearing and boasts that he's "successfully privatized world peace." His suit, he maintains, is not a weapon but an extension of himself, and his swaggering presence has supplanted nuclear weaponry as a deterrent -- call it mutually self-assured destruction.
It will surprise no one to learn that Stark's rampant pride goeth before a fall, though that this fall will come in a Formula One racing car sliced in half by what can only be described as "Laser Whips" is a bit harder to guess. Venko uses this creation merely to take Stark down a peg, and suggests that he deliberately allowed him to survive so that the rest of the world would see his vulnerability and do the rest of the job for him. But they don't. The rest of the film proceeds in much the same manner: intriguing problems crop up briefly, but none of them ever reach the point of actual peril.
What the obstacles lack in threat they try to make up in number. As with every superhero sequel, the villains must multiply, though whether or not you can call rival defense contractor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) a "villain" is debatable. Aside from being a waste of Rockwell's considerable talents, the character is completely unthreatening. Stark's story would have benefited greatly from the introduction of a smart, worthy industrial adversary, but instead we get a comically inept ankle biter who's no match for Stark's technology, publicity, or wit. Venko is a good deal more intimidating, but his methods and motives are muddled and he spends half of the film behind a monitor.
As the villains multiply, so too do the heroes. Scarlett Johansson's value comes from her shape more than her depth, though she's really just another link to the larger Marvel universe in store, for which there are plenty of easter eggs for the eagle-eyed. Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard as Lt. Col. James Rhodes, who finds his way into one of Stark's prototype suits often enough that the film could have been called Iron Men.
The action is fun and dense, though not terribly inventive. The bulk of every conflict still involves giant hunks of metal clanging into each other while beams of light and energy fly around chaotically. If you can't afford a ticket, you can simulate these scenes by turning on a strobe light and putting a pile of silverware in the dryer.
The dialogue isn't nearly as sharp as that of its predecessor, but it still skewers effectively and Downey makes the most of every word.
There's still plenty to like here, however. Real things of real consequence happen in the film's third act, and Stark genuinely evolves as a character. Between meaningful arcs and necessary reboots in other comic book franchises, it's clear that today's audiences just won't embrace a static protagonist, a fact which may get in the way of Stark's charming debauchery the next time out.
Between the womanizing, the stylish suits, and the pithy one-liners, Tony Stark is the closest thing Marvel has to James Bond. The nice thing is, he builds his own gadgets, too.