Iron Man two is a film directed by Jon Favreau, written by Justin Theroux and carried by Robert Downey Junior. Adapted from a Marvel comic of the same name the film stars: Robert Downey junior as Tony Stark the billionaire, debonair, playboy. The film begins by estimate a number of months after Tony revealed his identity at the end of the original, we are explained (via montage) that Iron Man is loved by all and helping to maintain world peace.
How Iron Man maintains peace is confusing though...Shooting people in the face with a laser is not exactly a peaceful tactic.
But the American military industrial complex is pressuring Tony to give up the suit and share its powers with the world, Tony brushes it off claiming no one will be able to replicate his suit in the next two or three decades. But loe and behold Mickey Rourke playing a Russian villain (who is by far the most sympathetic character) has replicated his design and made electric whips somehow. Also Tony is being poisoned by his suit, Hammer industries is trying to steal his suit and Nick Shield (Samuel L Jackson!) is trying to recruit Tony into the Avengers team.
Lets get one thing very clear, the main reason I liked this film is because Robert Downey Junior is amazing he is charming, funny, conflicted without being annoying and he gives a fantastic performance. Gwyneth Paltrow is decent as Pepper Pots (Who the hell named her character) and Scarlet Johansson serves her purpose. Mickey Rourke is very good; he certainly has mastered the Russian accent.
There are a few things that annoyed me, when Ivan shows up at a racecourse with his whips he reveals his super power to be, not getting killed by flying shrapnel from explosions of his own creation; he actually went to the trouble of building an arc reactor and doesn’t bother to attach any amour to his body (Somehow a poverty stricken intoxicated Russian builds an Arc Reactor in his shed, when it took Tony Stark like a month and an arms bizarre to build his.)
There are two villains Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) and Ivan, Justin Hammer is immediately shown as incompetent, and unable to match Stark in any way which causes no feelings of threat in the audience. And Ivan’s master plan is ridiculously obvious from a very early point.
The filming is competent enough, the editing leaves a bit to be desired and the pacing of the fights was not conducive to tension. Make no mistake the action is great, the CGI and explosions are not intrusive or excessively prominent. I think that the M rating holds it back, Samuel L Jackson doesn’t even get to use his catchphrase!
In this film there is a lot of foreshadowing of the coming Avengers/Captain America/Thor films, so some scenes just feel like adds for The Avengers.
Good luck marketing this to an international audience
It occurred to me while watching that if they had just had Downey in a cupboard with a camera and a microphone reading his lines I may well have walked away just as satisfied, I am not saying the level that the film relies on him is a bad thing I mean he is a fantastic actor, he just outshines every one else. The film is a very good effort that matches the original, Downey continues to be one of the more reliable actors in Hollywood and the action is acceptable.
Four stars
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