Flick Flak: Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2
Director: Jon Favreau
With: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke
12A, 125 mins
The sequel to one of the best superhero films boasts an impressive cast, adding Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Don Cheadle to the already great roster.
Robert Downey Jr is perfect as Tony Stark. In Batman, Christian Bale is great as Bruce Wayne, but Robert Downey Jr is perfect as Tony Stark. I haven't read any Iron Man comics but I feel that if I did, Tony Stark would disappoint me compared to the movie interpretation.
Widening the scope of praise, everyone in Iron Man 2 is excellent. Don Cheadle, replacing Terrence Howard as Colonel Rhodes, is very good, and his character enjoys a really interesting story arc including conflict with his friend Stark. Mickey Rourke is fantastically charismatic as Ivan Vanko (who I assumed was called Whiplash in the comic books, although the film credits do not name him this. Nor do they call Rhodes 'War Machine', or Johansson 'Black Widow').
Sam Rockwell is a brilliant actor, and plays slimy weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer with crawly relish. And Scarlett Johansson. Wow. She plays Natasha Romanov very well, obviously looks fantastic, and her fight scenes towards the end are very impressive too. It made me chuckle that Jon Favreau, director and actor in Iron Man 2, gave himself the role of the driver in whose car Romanov whips off her clothes before donning a catsuit.
Story wise, Iron Man 2 comes close to being a classic superhero movie. For me, the middle part of the film potters and loses momentum a little, and parts of it feel contrived. However, by the time the final scenes roll around you will have forgotten the plodding, as the action blows you away. Credit to the writer Justin Theroux though, for writing a big budget sequel that still manages to delve into character development as well as delivering explosions.
The action scenes are breathtaking, from the early fight at the Monaco Grand Prix (the moment where Vanko flips a Formula One car in slow motion was giving me goose bumps every time I saw the trailer) to the whole last half hour of non-stop action, Iron Man 2 does fighting brilliantly.
Towards the end, as fights explode out into crowds, the action is filmed on hand-held cameras and looks frighteningly real. Iron Man himself still kicks as much ass as you would expect him to, and this time is eventually joined by Rhodes in a second suit, although this point is reached in an interesting way and not simply because it seems like a good idea to team up.
Also dropped into the film are tantalising hints at future Avengers related movies: Nick Fury (played by Samuel L Jackson) has a fuller inclusion this time around, even though Stark and the audience are teasingly denied a glimpse at a document entitled 'The Avenger Initiative'. Also do not forget to stay for the after-credits treat; I was one of about ten people still in the cinema when it rolled around, and more than one person gave an excited shriek of a nerd-gasm.
I slightly worry for the Avengers film, scheduled for summer 2012. Having not read the comics, I struggle to see how you can marry the very technology- focussed and relevant Iron Man with supernatural Gods courtesy of Thor. Plus throw in The Hulk and Captain America for good measure.
A bit of superhero-related film news - summer 2012 is when we can expect to see Batman 3. That will be a big deal, here's hoping they can equal The Dark Knight.
Overall then, Iron Man 2 is a thrilling ride. All of the characters are brilliantly realised, and the action is eye-wideningly, jaw-droppingly good. If I had to pick a fault it would be the slightly slow middle act, but as mentioned, by the end, that has been blasted away by the tremendous climax.
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