Bjorn TeoIron Man was smug, arrogant and yet charming because of its lead, Robert Downey Jr., who plays Tony Stark, the head of Stark Industries, a military company. In this sequel, Downey is still as magnetic as ever, but director Jon Favreau’s attempts to cram more into his originally brilliant movie ends up bringing the film to its knees.
When news reached fans that War Machine (played by Don Cheadle, who replaced Terence Howard after the latter refused a pay cut), which is military man James Rhodes and a great friend of Stark in an improved version of Iron Man’s suit, would be in Iron Man 2, the anticipation reached a fever pitch.
While the film promised to be epic, it didn’t deliver.
Iron Man 2 starts off with a bang 6 months after the events of the first film as Stark makes a grand entrance at the opening of the all-new “Stark Expo”, an exhibition to showcase the latest developments made by his company. Taking the stage with all the confidence of a man who has the world in his hands, Stark highlights his hope for world peace.
However, the celebration is cut short as Stark is summoned to a senate hearing. There, Senator Stern (Garry Shandling) attempts to force Stark into surrendering his power suit, using testimonials from Rhodes and rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), as evidence.
Stark says no, of course, but does it in his fashion: with such unbearable arrogance that makes your heart flutter nonetheless.
“Forget it, we’re safe, America is secure. You want my property? You can’t have it. But I did you a big favour; I’ve successfully privatised world peace.”
While things may seem all fun and hunky-dory, there’s a dark twist: Stark’s arc reactor, the very thing keeping him alive is, ironically, poisoning him and that sets him on a dangerously self-destructive path.
This is a big pitfall of the film. Fans will remember the wonder and the breathtaking sense of discovery that this “heart” of his gave him in the first film and in the sequel this is torn down brutally.
As part of his new mission to put himself in as much danger as possible, Stark decides, on a whim, to take part in a Formula 1 race in Monaco.
Here is the film’s most spectacular action scene. Vanko (57-year-old Mickey Rourke with gold teeth and a ripped body), in his Whiplash persona, attempts to take Stark down by slicing a Formula 1 car in half with energised whips of steel. He’s a bitter man who vows to take revenge on Stark for disgracing his father who had worked with Howard Stark, Tony’s father, on the creation of the original arc reactor.
Justin Hammer, who clearly subscribes to the school of thought that states that your enemy’s enemy is your ally, decides to partner Vanko to take down Stark together.
Here, with the movie in an awkwardly paced lull, Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D is thrown into the mix as a convenient plot device that provides Stark with the antidote to the poisoning caused by his arc reactor.
The rest of the film is predictable, with awkwardly edited scenes of suit construction, and the final showdown between Stark and Vanko is concluded within a minute or two, leaving the audience yearning for much more.
However, there is still a little gem in the film that Ultra Culture has called “a 2-hour advert for [The Avengers]: the relationship between Stark and his assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).
They still have scenes that make your breath catch, one in which Stark looks on with lidded eyes full of yearning as Potts kisses his helmet, instead of him, before throwing it out of the plane and telling him to “go get them”. The moment is made even better as Stark cheekily shouts out “you complete me” before following the helmet.
It’s scenes like this, as well as Stark and Potts that will pull you to the movie ultimately, despite the disjointed editing and poor pacing, because their chemistry and Downey’s charisma are impossible to ignore.
Release Details:
Title: Iron Man 2
Opens: Apr 30
Duration: 124 mins
Language: English
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-fi, Thriller
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle