Rwaaaaarrrrrrr!
This'll be a bit of a deviation from the usual review set-up, not so linear. I'm on the fence in a lot of ways about Iron Man 2. From my rating, you can clearly see that I enjoyed it, but it is difficult for me to determine if this sequel surpasses the original. It does and it doesn't.
At the end of the first film, we are left with a live and public announcement from Tony Stark that he is Iron Man. Some people loved this, considering the possibilities that are opened up in a sequel - the hero not obsessing over the secrecy of his identity and embracing it instead. Others, however, thought it was a cheap and rushed decision, summarily jumping through decades of Iron Man comics and landing in the middle of his publications where he is revealed to be Iron Man. But we have already explored this territory in other superheroes, roughly 80% of the movie genre is concerned with keeping it in the closet. This sequel shows that this gamble paid off, even though you may be left wanting more.
I say that because of the way Stark's public identity is utilized, and how we are shown what happens when the bad guys know where to find him. Granted, Stark already had enemies before he became Iron Man, but the manner in which Vanko literally crosses his path in Monaco can only be described as a lucky guess, considering his involvement in the race was completely impromptu. Otherwise, it was handled beautifully.
From the get-go, the audience is made to want Tony Stark to be dethroned. He viciously fights to protect his seat, neither impressed nor intimidated by those who seek to overthrow him - even if it's his best friend, he does not pull his punches. He is proud of his Iron Man creation and never misses the opportunity to say so. When Whiplash shows up, we are very nearly his advocate, hoping that the confrontation would give Tony some lesson in humility. But then we realize that this is exactly what his joke of a competitor Justin Hammer wants, and suddenly there is a conflict of interest for us all. At this point, we are pushed into the perspective of Tony's super-pal, Colonel James Rhodes. Rhodey himself has his own conflict of interest, although we are never completely fooled into thinking that he actually has a choice in the matter. The military is looking to him to secure the Iron Man armor, and although he senses there is more to this hostile takeover than his superiors are letting on, he soon discovers exactly how irresponsible Tony has become in his self-destructive partying - in his armor, no less. When America's self-proclaimed "nuclear deterrent" is partying drunk, revealing how it is he uses the bathroom in his suit - Rhodey steps up to the plate.
War Machine was a necessary step here. I had my doubts about this before - it seemed like a lot of people just wanted Iron Man to progress to the point where War Machine shows up, and I questioned the purpose of that. Fortunately, Jon Favreau and Justin Theroux made him completely relevant. The same cannot be said about Black Widow. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Scarlett Johansson's performance (though not as much as the drooling fanboys sitting next to me), and I welcomed her involvement in the story - but in the end, it did seem quite forced.
The reason Black Widow is instrumental to a part of the story is pretty simple - she's Tony's type. She's there to keep her eyes on him, which means she's there for Nick Fury to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, all they are able to dig up culminates in a state-the-obvious contest, which then results in a gigantic deux ex machina, for those who like the world's most popular dead language. It isn't until the end that we are given a satisfying pay-off to the seemingly reserved Natasha Romanoff.
Back to the story at hand - the character who we're probably the most disappointed with is Ivan Vanko. Oh he's good, in fact Mickey Rourke's performance quickly surpasses the cliched white-collar conservative that was Jeff Bridges, arguably the weakest point in "Iron Man" - even if he is more or less, playing an original character, I found every scene with Rourke to be refreshing. But the resolution, without ruining anything, is as anti-climatic as it is unfortunate. More could have been done with him, of that, I am certain.
As a sequel, this deviates from the expectations put upon it by other successful second installments from other superhero movies, and instead of a conflicting emotional train-wreck that forces our hero to give something up for the preservation of something greater, we are treated to new uncharted territory - where Iron Man's biggest concern is on himself, rather than his friends.
Highlights include:
-Mind-blowing effects and very well-staged battles
-Expert storytelling with excellent pacing
-Great acting on ALL fronts
-More of the same quirky humor from the original
-Happy's attempt at chivalry - "I got him!"
-The use of Captain America's Shield, much to the horror of Agent Coulson
Overall, Iron Man 2 is a very worthy sequel to what is arguably the best work Marvel has done so far. Although it keeps you at an arm's length during some of the more serious scenes, the atmosphere is consistent all throughout.
4.5 / 5
