The first Iron Man was a success no-one anticipated. A b-list character, an actor who’s career was at best c-list and had failed to make an impact after long struggles with drugs and alcohol. But against all odds, and maybe down to the low expectations giving everyone room to breathe, the result was a fun movie with an undeniably enjoyable Tony Stark.
Now with the success behind it and some mighty expectations from the backers, does the sequel pull off the same magic? Mostly yes, when it’s allowed to be an Iron Man movie. Stark and Pepper have the same chemistry, a recast James Rhodes does well as the unexpectedly-good-in-this War Machine (becoming a side-kick you actually want to see). And Micky Rourke’s swarthy Russian genius Venko/Whiplash proves more than a match for Stark, with some marvellously impressive electrified cables capable of of slicing speeding cars in half. The additional of a sleazy but ineffective business rival who plays like a combination of Batman Returns‘ Max Shreck and Batman Forever‘s Nygma is a little too much but he’s at least worthwhile and keeps the story flowing.
What’s less fun is the inclusion of S.H.I.E.L.D. in it’s longest ‘cameo’ so far in a Marvel Studios movie. Slinky as Black Widow may be, she and Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson again) add absolutely nothing of value to the movie and their scenes feel somewhat painfully inserted into a finished script just to promote the upcoming Avengers movie. Their scenes could easily be cut out without impacting the plot, making a tighter less rambling movie.
Iron Man 2 is still a lot of fun. The finale is over too quickly almost as soon as it’s about to get started but there’s plenty of action and humour and it’s definitely worth checking out on the big screen.
They got lucky this time, but Marvel might want to ask itself whether it’s really worth damaging movies just to advertise an upcoming feature. Is promoting an Avengers movie at this stage really so important? There’s still Thor and Captain America to get through, neither of whom have that good a track record or to be perfectly honest are that inspiring as characters. If any one of them bombs, you’re tarnishing decent properties by association. Let Thor and Captain America succeed or fail on their own terms. THEN maybe think about a crossover feature.
I’d be more than happy to see another Iron Man movie but for gods sake let’s keep it an Iron Man movie. Don’t waste my time with freeloaders.
3/5
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