By Barnaby Walter
The first Iron Man movie, released in 2008, was a big success. It made loads of cash for both Marvel and Paramount and entertained audiences while doing so. It was a smooth, funny and very watchable superhero action movie; popular entertainment and its explosive best. Sadly, those days seem to be over for the metal-suited hero, as Iron Man 2 is a dull, monotonous and seemingly structureless movie.
Robert Downey Jr. is on top form as Tony Starke, the billionaire weapons industrialist who, by inhabiting and developing the Iron Man suit, he has effectively “privatised world peace”. However, even Downey Jr.’s quick witted mumbling can’t save the turgid script and the other two-dimensional characters that fight for screen time. Mickey Rourke plays a mildly entertaining yet underdeveloped Russian baddy, Sam Rockwell turns up as rival weapon developer Justin Hammer and Scarlet Johansson gives a forgettable turn as a personality-starved sexy new assistant to Starke Enterprises. The latter also spends a lot of time with US secret service agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who talks ominously about involving Starke in a new initiative (aka a possible Avengers movie, featuring a host of Marvel characters). This feels a little weird, as both Samuel and Scarlet were last seen, dressed almost identically, as the Nazi-esque villains in the bafflingly dire comic-book movie The Spirit. Here, they seem to be good people. I think.
The narrative is all over the place, and doesn’t seem to know what character or plotline to focus on. Gwyneth Paltrow lights up the screen as Pepper Potts, newly promoted to CEO of Starke’s company, but she is sidelined in favour of Miss Johansson. Don Cheadle fills in for Terrance Howard in the role of military high-flier Lt. Col. James Rhodes (and feels out of place), and in one ridiculous scene demolishes Starke’s Malibu house when his friend refuses to behave more sensitively to “the current situation”.
This current situation comes about when a violent Russian weapons maker (Rourke) smashes up a car racetrack in France using cloned Iron Man technology built into his chest. Tony must now find out how his technology is being stolen, while also discovering a way to save himself (his blood toxicity levels are rising due to the use of the Iron Man suit).
The more undemanding members of the audience will savour the explosions, but as a whole this is an underwhelming sequel with muddled plotting and far too many characters for its own good. It made me yearn for the fun simplicity of the first film – back in the good days when Iron Man was first finding his feet in a world of uncertainty. Now, the whole concept has started to bore me.
Crew and Company credits to follow shortly.
