Iron Man 2

(2010)

Directed by

Jon Favreau

Review by Terry Plucknett

Posted - 5/11/10

In all the latest re-boots of superhero franchises, there is a definite outline that has been set in place to how the movies go.  First, you have the first movie which examines the beginnings of how the superhero came to be.  In the second movie, you have a villain that forces the superhero to question who he is and his motives for being the superhero he is.  The third film examines alter-egos and the demons that the superhero faces as they oftentimes meet their greatest foe.  This has proven to be true in the Spider-Man franchise, the X-Men franchise, as well as the Batman franchise as all have been reborn in the last 10 years.  So far, the Iron Man franchise has also held to this formula, and proves once again why there are trends like this in Hollywood: they are effective.

Iron Man 2 picks up where the first film left off.  In fact, the first scene of the film is the last scene of the first film; Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is announcing to the world that he is indeed Iron Man.  Watching this press conference in this first scene is Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), the son of an exiled Russian physicist that used to work with Tony’s father, Howard.  He decides to try and fight back against Stark and the Iron Man for what he feels was an injustice done against his family by the Stark family, and just like Tony, Ivan has inherited his father’s knowledge and genius.  Tony, on the other hand, is fighting other battles of his own.  First, there is the Congressional Hearing where he is asked to turn over the Iron Man suit to the U.S. Government because the national defense should not be privatized.  Second, there is the conflict between Stark and weapons rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) who is trying to ruin Stark, as well as duplicate his engineering success.  The third conflict Stark has is within himself as the reactor keeping his heart alive is beginning to pollute his body in a way that could eventually kill him.  Into these personal and professional dilemmas Vanko thrusts himself into the picture in a sudden attack on Stark in the middle of the Monaco Grand Prix which Tony is racing in.  This starts a downward spiral for Tony Stark, as he begins to question who he is and what he wants to be as he sees his life quickly coming to an end.

Although the formula for superhero movies is followed by the Iron Man franchise, there is one aspect that it did not follow that the others did.  In every other franchise mentioned above, the first sequel surpassed the greatness of the original while Iron Man 2 does not quite reach the greatness of the original Iron Man.  I am not saying this movie is not good, but at best it is on the same level with the first film.  Because of this actually, this film feels more like an immediate continuation of the story from the first film than any of the other films.

What makes the Iron Man films so much fun is the man at the center of the franchise, Robert Downey, Jr.  He is one of those actors that can simply make the film more entertaining just by showing up on the set.  There are few actors right now I love to watch more than Downey.  In this case, he continues to deliver as the egotistical, fast-talking crime fighter.  One aspect where this film improved from the first is the supporting cast, simply because there is a larger cast of characters.  There are great performances once again by Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jon Favreau, who return from the first film, as well as from newcomers Rourke, Rockwell, Gary Shandling, Don Cheadle (taking over in the role played by Terrence Howard in the first film), and Scarlett Johansson.  Samuel L. Jackson also has a slightly expanded role as Nick Fury, building even more excitement and hype around the upcoming The Avengers film where many of these comic book re-boots will join forces.

Overall, Iron Man 2 may not have reached the lofty heights of the original, but it came very close.  It was an entertaining sequel and strong continuation of the story of one of the more interesting characters to come out of the new comic book franchises, Tony Stark.

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