As 2008's Iron Man concludes, millionaire genius brat Tony Stark has just confirmed to the general public that he is the man in the super-powered Iron Man suit. Now as expected, everything is blowing up in his face. The United States military wants to get its hands on as powerful as weapon as Iron Man. And then there's the matter of Ivan Vanko, who aims to avenge his father's untimely ejection from his place as Tony's father's partner in business and invention.
If you like action movies, race cars, explosions, huge weapons, robots, and/or cockatiels (and your humble author enjoys all of the above from time to time), Iron Man 2 delivers. If something isn't being turned into a gigantic fireball or Scarlet Johansson isn't roundhouse kicking someone in the head onscreen, you can also bet that Robert Downey, Jr. is getting in some scathing wit onscreen as Tony Stark, vying with Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer to see who can be more obnoxious, or engaging in some delicious sexual tension with Gwyneth Paltrow's "Pepper" Potts, Stark's...well, she used to be his assistant but she gets a big promotion in this sequel. An entertaining cast of comic characters is exquisitely translated to the screen in a thoroughly enjoyable summer movie.
The first Iron Man definitely had your author biting her nails on many an occasion, while Stark is tortured in Afghanistan and then later when he fights to survive as he battles Obadiah Stane in matching iron suits. This sequel is a little bit more predictable; never did I feel a twinge of heartstring-tugging uncertainty as to Stark's fate (and yes, I know the good guys always have to win even in the first one), even when plot contrivances such as Stark's rising level of blood toxicity attempted to make me nervous. Stark's solution to this problem, as well as his victory over Vanko, just seems too easy - and as for the latter, while I was very pleased by Vanko's character depth and highly legitimate reason for trying to defeat Tony Stark, I felt like the resolution of his arc was rushed and underwhelming. However, it's a summer superhero sequel, and a good one at that, so what can you really expect?
Monday, June 28, 2010
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