Review: Iron Man 2

     Continuing my recent trend of catching up with summer movies I wasn't willing to pay for at the theaters, I checked out "Iron Man 2", one of the many summer sequels earlier this year. The first "Iron Man" was a pleasant surprise back in 2008 and was well reviewed by critics who are usually not too fond of superhero or action movies. One of the main reasons for the film's positive responses was that the film moved along at a quick pace and had a very likable care-free attitude, personified by its lead actor, Robert Downey Jr. Anyone familiar with Hollywood's obsession with sequels will know that the second time around, things are rarely as fresh. So how about "Iron Man 2"? Does it pull off the rare feet of being a great sequel, a la "The Godfather Part 2" and "The Empire Strikes Back", or does it go the typical route of most sequels in being lackluster versions of the original?


     Unfortunately, it is more of the latter than the former, but still ends up a step ahead of many recent sequels. "Iron Man 2" actually reminded me more of a video game sequel than anything else. It takes most of the same characters, adds in some new ones to spice things up, creates a new villain and story, and takes the same basic formula and runs through it again. The feeling your left with is generally pleasure, but you can't help but feel a bit cheated.

     "Iron Man 2" takes up right where "Iron Man" left off. At the end of the first film, Tony Stark revealed to the world that he is Iron Man, and at the beginning the sequel, the narcissistic Tony Stark is lapping up the attention. Amid the obvious panic of one man having so much panic, the U.S. government demands Tony Stark hand over the Iron Man suit in a very entertaining Congressional hearing (god I wish more people talked to Senators like Tony Stark does in this hearing). Things are not all rosy in Iron Man's world though, as the suit that keeps him alive is also slowly poisoning him. Some of his father's past is also coming back to haunt him, as his father's disgruntled partner's son, Ivan Ranko (Mickey Rourke). Ranko is out to avenge his father, and when he teams up with Stark's business rival, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), it sets up the necessary conflict to fill out this "Iron Man" sequel.

    
     The story is typical comic book stuff, and it is one of the two things that hold the movie back a bit, with the other being the action sequences. Both the story and action sequences feel like contractual obligations the film makers felt they must put the audience through, and like anything obligatory, there is very little passion or fun involved. Other than bits of the narrative with Tony Stark, none of the other characters in the story are very interesting, and are just vague comic book arch-types. The action sequences meanwhile are just simply a bore. At this point in cinema history, watching CGI iron monsters fight it out does very little for me (other than act as a sedative), and at some point I hope action movies will learn to forgo big CGI sequences and instead settle for quick realistic sequences. I don't see that happening anytime soon, but I'll keep dreaming until it does.

     The thing that keeps "Iron Man 2" a step ahead of other summer blockbusters though is what made the first film so enjoyable, a sense of fun of comedy. Whenever Tony Stark is at his most arrogant, pious self, the banter with who ever is around him is fun to listen to, and this is almost solely due to Mr. Robert Downey Jr. Downey Jr. is the perfect actor to portray Tony Stark, and while the rest of the cast does a decent job (except for Sam Rockwell whose character is cartoonishly annoying at times), Downey Jr. is the clear stand out. Downey Jr. is a good actor and knows how to play these roles, and I will take his quirky roles over the much beloved quirky roles of Johnny Depp's any day.

    
     While it is definitely not as good as the original, I would recommend any fans of "Iron Man" to check out "Iron Man 2", as long as your expectations are not too high. The quality of summer movies over the last few years has been on a steady decline, so I know this isn't very high praise, but "Iron Man 2" is certainly above average with its summer competition. If you're looking for a summer action film, you could sure do a lot worse than "Iron Man 2".

Rating: 7/10

Christopher Lominac