Iron Man 2

Second films are usually either a bridge film between films one and three (“The Two Towers”) or, in rare cases, better than the original (“The Godfather II”). The biggest question this month is how does the biggest “middle film” of the summer – “Iron Man II” - fit between those two extremes?

The short answer is: in the middle.

The plot continues where the last one ended. Tony Stark informed the world he’s Iron Man, but he seems to be overstretched. His mental and physical health are failing, and he’s coping in true Stark fashion – not well. Iron Man is one of my favorite superheroes is that he is admittedly flawed and chased by demons. Not to get too bogged down, but one of the reasons that the film works is because it’s multi-leveled. It’s a battle of good vs evil, externally and internally.

The cast is great. The chemistry carries over for the first one and the new additions fold into the mix well. The replacing of Terrance Howard with Don Cheadle works to a certain extent, but doesn’t completely gel. I think had they not made Rhodey a much more stoic character it wouldn’t have worked at all. Mickey Rourke is a creepy catalyst, used as a combination of a walking talking special effect and a plot device. Scarlett is there primarily as eye candy, and of course succeeds.

One of the best highlights for me is the chemistry and dialogue between Downey and Paltrow. The dialogue is structured so that they often talk over each other and talk at the same time – just like the supercouples of the 40s (my favorite). Both actors have a great sense of comedic timing and the screenwriter (who also penned “Tropic Thunder”) knows how to bring it out.

There are a few minute things that were annoying, but those were only idiosyncrasies. For example, the door to Tony’s workshop is passcode accessible only, but apparently EVERY CHARACTER has the passcode. But even more frustrating was what I’ll call “Marvel product placement”, such as the lead ins to the other upcoming films in the Marvel Universe. I know that not only is this film part of a trilogy, but it’s also one in a bigger set of films, but some of this is just stupid. (If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean.) The filmmakers are also adding a teaser after the credits isn’t necessary. Everyone knows what the next films are – either come up with something better, or don’t bother to try.

All in all though, it was great to lose myself in something for over two hours. I
saw it NOT in IMAX, and not in my usual theater. I saw this film in a theater that I haven’t been in for about 15 years, and the film was still fantastic. That is the best testament to the film – I forgot the theatrical experience and just watched and enjoyed the film. Can’t wait for the next one.