REVIEW: Iron Man 2 by JoshW

At 11am this morning here in the UK, I finally got to see the movie that I've been looking forward to for the past two years. So, was it any good or a disaster of Spider-Man 3 proportions? Read on to find out..!

The Dark Knight may have been a movie that was worthy of an Oscar and Watchmen might be one of the only comic book movies where it actually feels like the pages of the comic are coming to life in front of you on the big screen but despite that, there is no doubt in my mind that Iron Man 2 is the best superhero movie ever made. Even though I’ve been beyond excited to see characters like Black Widow and War Machine, I couldn’t help but feel like they might be trying to include a little too much here just as Spider-Man 3 did. (and we all know how that turned out!) However, there really is nothing to worry about as Jon Favreau manages to effortlessly balance all of the new story elements in the movie while at the same time giving all of the new characters introduced justice rather than leaving fans wanting more, or even less, of one or the other.

So, first things first - the story. I wont bother writing out a synopsis of the plot here simply because I’m sure that you not only have a good idea at this point but also because I don’t want to risk saying anything that might count as a spoiler! Needless to say, it surpasses that of the first film and is structured extremely well. Favreau has effortlessly managed to both advance and flesh out the characters from the last instalment while also setting up the new characters for both future Iron Man movies and The Avengers. It’s Favreau’s direction here that really makes me wish that it was him helming that movie as he handles the ensemble cast extremely well and the actions scenes are truly breathtaking and like nothing I’ve ever seen before. And despite all of those great action set pieces, the movie has plenty of heart which are also handled brilliantly.

If you’ve seen Iron Man, then I think you’ll already know what I’m going to say about Robert Downey Jr. I honestly cant imagine anyone else doing Tony Stark justice the way that he does. One minute he’ll have you laughing and the next will display a heart breaking range of emotion that will have really have you rooting and caring for him. As for who you might consider the films leading lady, Gwyneth Paltrow, I have to admit to being really unimpressed. It’s not that I don’t like her as an actress but I didn’t enjoy her performance in the last movie and she does nothing here to change my mind. A big part of that I think is because her character just isn’t that interesting (they do give her a slightly new role here but that doesn’t help) and as an actress, she does nothing to make up for that. Hopefully, she wont be in The Avengers and her role in Iron Man 3 wont be all that substantial as I found myself looking forward to her scenes coming to an end!

As for the new additions to the cast, there’s not a single performance that I could fault. Don Cheadle as Rhodey was perhaps the one actor that I was most unsure of when he was announced as a replacement for Terrence Howard but after a few short scenes, it’s clear that Marvel couldn’t have found anyone better (if only they’d used him in the first movie!) to portray the character and I for one would now love to see him in his own solo movie as there’s no doubt in my mind that he could definitely handle that. Scarlett Johansson was another addition to the cast that I wasn’t completely behind but again, she nails Black Widow here perfectly. As you’ll already know from the clips and trailers previously released she may not have the Russian accent but she does a great job here and looks perfect for the role. She really doesn’t have enough screen time for me to judge whether a solo movie, as has been rumoured, would be a good idea but I hope that we’ll see more from her in The Avengers because the few scenes that she is in are like seeing the character step straight out of the comic book. Finally, you have Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell, both of whom make for a great duo of villains and both have a fantastic chemistry in the scenes they share. Rourke delivers as Whiplash (with a flawless Russian accent) and is a genuinely sinister villain that many other actors could have made cheesy. Rockwell’s creepy interpretation of Justin Hammer though is a better casting choice than if they had decided to follow the comic books a little more closely and gone with an older actor as His enjoyably smarmy performance is one that I find hard to imagine any other actor achieving.

Now, despite the brilliant performances of those I’ve mentioned above there were really three actors who stole the show in my eyes. For a start, if there’s anyone who still moans about Samuel L. Jackson being cast as Nick Fury after seeing Iron Man 2 I’ll be extremely shocked as he delivers one hell of a performance here. In keeping slightly more with the Ultimate version perhaps, he bring a little more humour to the character but when he gets serious, it’s not hard to accept him as the bad ass head of S.H.I.E.L.D! Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson is once again great fun to watch and it’ll be brilliant to see him take a larger role in Thor as the dry humour that his character has made for some of the best scenes in the movie. Finally, it’s director Jon Favreau that reminds us he’s just as good in front of the camera as he is behind it. Happy Hogan has a lot more to do here and like Coulson delivers some of the funniest and perhaps most memorable scenes of the movie. This isn’t to say that the main cast that I’ve listed above don’t but as these three have a smaller role in the movie than them, it was great to see them all deliver such stand out performances!

The CGI in this movie is amazing. Whether it’s Iron Man or War Machine’s suits or the explosive final 20 minutes, there isn’t a single scene that lets this down. Unlike some movies where poor or downright unrealistic CGI can take you out of the moment, it gets to a point where you can almost imagine the Iron Man suit actually being real as it’s so well animated! The music featured is also well used and rivals Kick-Ass in terms of the way it’s used in scenes. Not only is the AC/DC opening that was released online a few weeks ago excellently done but the scene featuring Iron Man taking on ??? In the Mark II suit is brilliantly timed to some great songs. I’m sure that by now you all know there’s a scene after the credits but just in case you don’t, be sure to WAIT!!! I may have already seen it here on CBM yesterday but it gave me chills to see it on the big screen and to say I could have almost soiled myself with excitement would be an understatement! (ok, too much information I know!)

As for the parts of the movie that perhaps weren’t so good, I can honestly say that I have very few faults to list here. About halfway through the movie things do get a little slow but never boring and this is simply down to Iron Man 2 being filled with such a fantastic cast of actors. As I’ve already mentioned above, Paltrow’s performance was the only weak point for me but otherwise, even the most minor of role are well acted here. The biggest fault I have with the movie as there is just a little too much going on. So many new elements and characters are introduced, I just hope that the next instalment in the franchise will focus a little more on Iron Man and a singular foe with just one solid storyline as the first movie had. That’s not to say it wasn’t handled well and I’m all for bringing them back next time as supporting characters who can share the movie just so long as the focus is kept more on Stark because after all, this is his movie! Also, as you may have seen mentioned in other reviews on the site, the final showdown with Whiplash is almost over before it really begins and could have been fleshed out a little more in my opinion.

Those however, are very minor gripes and I think by now you must have already guessed how many stars I’m going to give this movie. The First Avenger: Captain America and Thor have a lot to live up to if they hope to compete with this and I hope that they can because if they’re even half as good as Iron Man 2, 2011 is going to be one hell of a year!

-JoshW