Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man. The film follows the consequences of Tony Starks' revelation that he is Iron man.



The Good

What really makes this film is Tony Stark played by Robert Downey Jr and Ivan Vanko played by Mickey Rourke. Once again Downey imbues Stark with a rougish charm like a modern day cowboy out to clean up the wild west, except this time the wild west is the 21 century, and instead of six shooters he's got an armored suit that can fly and blow up tanks.

What sets Iron Man apart from recent onscreen heroes, especially the super variety is how much he actually enjoys being a superhero, something which becomes an addiction for Tony which begins to make him a hazard instead of a hero.

Contrasted with this is Ivan Vanko. Mickey Rourke continuing his pheonix like rise which he started in Darren aronofskys' The Wrestler; takes what could have been a thug in a suit, easly played by any stuntman and makes him into a sympathetic villain, one that you can understand his hatred for Iron Man . Rourke makes Vanko a thug with intelligence. Its fun to watch him stare down Tony as well as newcomer billionare Justin Hammer. Rourke gives Vanko a menacing stare that show the gears in his head turning and you wonder what brutal thoughts he's dreaming up. Its fun and chilling at the same time

The action this time around is really kicked up a notch up from last time. It was good to see a film FINALLY capture just how demi-god superheroes are and the films' climatic battle prooves this.

Story wise, it was refreshing to watch a film where the villains have more human goals, as opposed to classic world conquering schemes.

The Bad

Like I said Rourke and Downey make the film, sadly they don't share much screentime togehter, its always good to have your main antagonist and protagonist interact as much as posssible it helps to build towards the climatic confrontation. Speaking of climatic confrontation. While the film final action sequence is great, it could have been longer.

The Iffy

What is gonna turn some people off is the inclusion of more Marvel superheroes. Its no secret that Marvel is building up to The Avengers; however some people unfamiliar with the Marvel stable might get thrown of by the sudden inclusion of certain characters. This is something that really is up to you and I can see it taking some viewers out of the story, but also you might find it a real treat.

Another iffy is the style of the film. Iron Man continues with its fast and loose style of direction and dialogue, which might come off as unfocused and distracting to some, but on the other hand it might add to the fun and frentic energy that is Tony's personality so that is up to the viewer.

In the End...

All said and done Iron Man does what many summer blockbusters set out to do but usually fail (Yeah thats right Transformers 2) which is being fun and accesible without being in your face and trying too hard to be cool. Like I said Tony Stark is the kinda guy that pulls up in sports car and says, "party at my house!" and thats what Iron Man 2 is a fun party with a billionare superhero, so go check it out!

3 Iron Man suits outta 4