When the original Iron Man came out in 2008, I will admit I was a very happy individual. Indeed I saw that film 4 times at least in the cinema. Why? It was fresh, funny, exciting, charismatic, enjoyable, nonsense, cool, interesting, light. A great Blockbuster film. Indeed, the world’s population agreed with me as it turned into a roaring success cashing in just under $600 million worldwide. Therefore, the prospect of a second Iron Man excited me at the mere mention of it. However, as I write this review, a great feeling of disappointment and frustration fills me; sorry Favreau something’s not quite right with this one.
Many of you may balk at the suggestion that your beloved Iron Man has done bad, however, to make clear from the start; it is not Iron Man/Tony Stark/ Robert Downey Jr’s fault. Indeed, he is the main man as per expected. So breathe a sigh of relief there. However, the main problem is that Iron Man is not Iron Man. Sadly boys and girls; this film is not truly an independent Iron Man film as it has its eyes directly linked at the Avengers movie scheduled for 2012.
To stereotype, I’m guessing many of you have seen the first Iron Man and bought it on DVD (if not, buy it). You will have seen the references to SHIELD throughout the film and the appearance of Nick Fury after the credits. Indeed, this wetted our appetites for the aforementioned Avengers film acting as a very small teaser trailer of sorts; a nice little in joke for all us brilliant nerds and geeks. However, Favreau seems to have been watching his Michael Bay box set whilst reading his Iron Man comic books as the in joke becomes an open theme throughout the whole film. From a gentle and subtle wink at the audience, it now becomes a continual loud shout. I’m not the brightest match in the box but I got the joke pretty early on and I don’t need continual blatant references to the film to come. Case in point: Scarlett Johansson. She plays the Black Widow and…. No really, have no idea what she does. She seems to be hired by Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) to spy on him and judge him on whether he’s good enough to join the Avengers. (This may be a spoiler; however, if read comics or blogs it probably isn’t). That’s it. She’s apparently his new assistant as her cover but pfft, she does jack shit and it’s up to Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) again to look after him. However, for the record, Scarlett Johansson can kick my ass any day. Back to the point, Iron Man 2 sometimes feels like the Truman Show; shamelessly advertising products with no care how disjointed it may be. Indeed, the off the cuff references to Captain America and Thor (yes, there is a clip after the credits) began to slightly grate. There is a fine line between building the excitement and shamelessly selling out; one that Iron Man 2 walks very precariously.
This may sound very harsh so far; however, average Joe must be considered in the grand scheme of things. For example, as a recent English newspaper’s (The Daily Mirror) critic pointed out, they were entirely lost and did not have a clue as to what was going on. This critic targeted the style rather than the substance; something I must critique of this critic. However, they make a fair point. To the uninformed, they may ask “what is SHIELD?”; “what’s a black widow?” and “what’s with the big hammer at the end?” I acknowledge it’s a comic book film and I understand these in jokes but I’m guessing many will not. I guess you can argue that this will entice them further to watch the Avengers movie and that the first one set up the story perfectly fine, so it’s more a personal matter rather than the film’s fault.
Again to clarify, I LOVE IRON MAN. It’s just I’m trying to shed light on other possible opinions, you may not agree but that’s not the point. To continue, the great thing about Iron Man 1 was that it had the great introduction and one clear bad guy. It was quite simple in all honesty but I believe that’s what made it so strong. The problem here is that none of it is actually wrong; it’s just there’s too much of it. The main point here is that this is Iron Man 2. I understand it is part of the upcoming Avengers film and that Iron Man is a key component of that film; however, I’d rather this film be Iron Man 2 than an Avengers prequel. I’m not directly saying it is; just the line is strangely blurred.
With all this going on, someone had to pick up the tab for all of this; sadly it was the characters. I like Jon Favreau a lot and I don’t think he would simply hire names to boost the poster and interest; however, the fact that Iron Man 2 made me even think this, saddens me. Firstly, Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer is great as Rockwell continues his great run of form following the excellent Moon. His desire to topple Stark is clear and well presented; however, the problem is with all the aforementioned traffic continually cramped into the film, he gets little room to breathe. His appearance at the Stark EXPO makes him look like a great charisma foil to Stark but he gets no time to shine. In fact, Hammer seems to be slightly neutered and turns more into pathetic geek as he gets easily emasculated in seconds by Pepper Potts. As Moon showed, Rockwell can hold a film and in his every scene in Iron Man 2, he does dazzle; sadly he just doesn’t get enough time to razzle dazzle completely.
An even greater injustice gets served to Mickey Rourke who plays pissed off Russian Ivan Vanko. This character has a great potential: my gut reaction seemed like an angrier, more Russian, steroid filled Jeff Bridges and to be honest, that’s exactly what this film needed. However, Rourke gets absolutely nothing to work with. Few lines of dialogue, only one action scene (in the following scenes, you only see the repercussions of his actions) and very very little screen time with his counterparts. The scene in the prison where he confronts Tony Stark features great tension as both men stare at each other, both as products of disgruntled pasts. It’s great but it lasts for no more than 3 minutes. Give him more! Indeed, in Rourke’s scene it is entirely in iron and we never hear him speak at all and only see his face for approximately 20 seconds. I know Rourke’s accent is dodgy but this just seems damn unfair. With the final scene of Iron Man 1, you constantly hear Obadiah speaking of his pain and desire to take over; we hear his motivation and realise there is a man underneath the metal. In Iron Man 2, I knew he was under there just I didn’t feel it. This is probably a tad picky and involves a high level of personal preference but I think if you do watch it (and I actively encourage you to do so), you may feel the same.
Some of you may have picked up on my subtle point here that there appears to be a bit of Spiderman 3 syndrome. There is too much going on, even excluding the Avengers bit. There’s a struggle between Rhodey and Stark, Stark’s personal battles, the relationship between Potts and Stark, Stark and his dad, Stark and Hammer, Hammer and Vanko, Vanko and Stark and of course, the interspersing SHIELD reminders. I’m not shouting at his ambition; in fact, Favreau is brilliant at this kind of stuff. The problem is in Iron Man 2 he doesn’t control it at all. It’s all over the place. However, I wish to point the finger away from Favreau and towards writer Justin Theroux. Theroux tries to pull too many tricks in his script but simply ends up throwing everything up in the air and catching very few as they fall. The original Iron Man was scripted by a crack team for 4 writers (Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway) and they managed to provide us with an exciting and fresh origins story whilst keeping it light and fun moving away from the darker elements of Batman. Indeed, origin stories are easier than the dreaded second film but there are basics which are simply Theroux and Favreau’s fault. The tone is all over the place and actions scenes actively involving Iron Man are few and far between. Furthermore, Favreau boosts his character from forgettable cameo to irrelevant supporting role; Hitchcock had it right: directors direct and cameo, actors act. Very few are able to do both; Mr. Favreau, you can get away with this in smaller films but not Iron Man 2. I mean he has more lines that Rourke, the apparent baddy of the whole piece- just why?!
However, my main problem (sorry to moan) is that it’s too smooth. Everything runs perfectly. Action scenes go as planned. Dialogue is snappy when needed. Ok you may be thinking “that’s just a good film running its course” but that’s not my point. Indeed, the action scenes are rather brilliant; the final one is well executed and brings a much needed increase in pulse to the film. Furthermore, the Monaco scene is also good. However, there’s a rather weird absence of tension. I would wish for reader feedback on this but I felt a severe lack of tension in many of the scenes. I was not worried for Stark’s life.The bad guys and their weapons were not that threatening, maybe it was their lack of screen time or maybe it’s just me; nevertheless I just wasn’t feeling it. To put it this way, Terminator 2 has great CGI but it has another rough edges and scary characters to get you genuinely scared and become enthralled by the whole film. You can’t take your eyes off Iron Man 2 (a credit to Favreau) but I just felt it needed that extra kick; an extra flair of tobacco if you will.
However, by now you’ve probably thought I’m nonsensical and a complete cynic or going against the prospect of watching Iron Man 2 on the big screen. For the record, I insist you watch this film on the big screen. On DVD or online stream, it won’t be the same. The action scenes really work on the screen and do have the wow factor expected of a Blockbuster. Indeed, Iron Man 2 is a good way to kick off a good summer of cinema. To prove I am a balanced writer, I am accept that many of you will disagree with the first part of my review. One of my best friends stated it was a clear 4, bridging on 5, out of 5 stating it was the most fun you’ll have in the cinema this year. My friend is right to a certain extent; this film is fun popcorn fodder and the main reason, you knew it was coming, Mr. Robert Downey Jr.
The following appraisal of the brilliant Robert Downey Jr. is not plagiarism from other such reviews; it’s fact. He’s the main attraction for this spectacular. Oozing charm, wit and fun; it’s hard to take your eyes off him. Downey Jr. seems to be having the time of his life in this role and it clearly rubs off on the audience too as most praise for this film is being directed squarely at Downey Jr. I just wish he had more one to one scene with character that could fight back with snappier dialogue. However, good support does arrive in the form of Don Cheadle slipping effortlessly into the role Terence Howard quickly vacated after Iron Man 1. Furthermore, he has good scenes with Downey Jr. and with Rockwell provides the best entertainment minus RDJ.
The critique that this is not a superhero film is not a real critique. Iron Man 2 tries to examine personal strifes without delving into the depths of darkness of other comic book franchises. Therefore, in Favreau’s attempts to keep things light he leaves himself open for attack for this criticism. However, I would say the action scenes are all there and the basic frame of this film is very good. But, and it’s a very big but, there is too much going on. No matter how good the cast are, no matter how pretty the action scenes are, when the dust settles there is just too much to comprehend. Many may criticise my over reference to Iron Man 1, however, it is the clearest example of how it should be done in the way that Spiderman 2 acts at the perfect example for Spiderman 3. I am an Iron Man fan and I really wanted to say this is much better than the original etc. However, as my review states I cannot. I cannot rate this film higher than 3. So, next time, please just be an Iron Man film focusing on Iron Man.
3/5
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