Quick Note: I hate making excuses to you guys, but a quick apology once more for the recent lack of updates. I had to step away from the blog these last few weeks to study for and take the GREs (I’ll sadly have to disappear again in two weeks for my random and potentially insane idea to take the LSATs). To begin making up for all of that, here’s an extra long look at this summer’s first big blockbuster. A review of How to Train Your Dragon – and a return to semi-regular updating - coming by Tuesday night. Thanks again to all of you for sticking around and checking the blog!
Review: Iron Man 2
My Rating: 2 ½ bites [out of 5]
In Short: Warning: this review is going to be pretty long (nothing beats my Harry Potter obsession, but Mr. Tony Stark comes pretty damn close). So, here’s a quick rundown: while Iron Man 2 is fun, big, and entertaining, bringing back the characters you loved and delivering just enough good action to justify the $12 tickets (as expected for a mega-budget superhero sequel), it falls short of its predecessor mainly due to a cluttered and unfocused screenplay. For everyone who wants more details, though, brace yourselves: this is my most lengthy monstrosity since the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince review… [full review after the jump]
Full Review:
Ivan Vanko (a.k.a. Whiplash) to Tony Stark: “If you can make God bleed, people will cease to believe in Him. Then there will be blood in the water, and the sharks will come. All I have to do is sit here and watch…as the world consumes you.”
That’s a brilliant line, said with vengeful relish (and a very believable Russian accent) by Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Vanko, who also doubles as the main villain of this movie, Whiplash. It’s one of the best moments in this sequel, and it represents a fascinating thematic direction for this series to take, especially one that ended with Tony Stark announcing to the world: “I am Iron Man.” However, this also represents one of several great ideas that this sequel explores, none of which, unfortunately, are given enough follow-through to make this as strong and focused an outing as the first film. I can’t fully recommend Iron Man 2, as much as I wanted to and as much as I still love Robert Downey Jr./Tony Stark, but there are still enough good scenes and moments here to make it worthwhile to catch in theaters.
So, first, let’s talk about the good stuff. Picking up 6 months after the press conference at the end of Iron Man, we now find Tony Stark (Downey Jr., brilliant as always) dealing with his own legacy. He was on top of the world by the end of the first film, and now that world is slowly crumbling to pieces as his self-proclaimed savior ambitions bring about unexpected complications. The U.S. government is forcing him to release his Iron Man armor technology (the committee’s headed by a well-cast Garry Schandling, upping the smarm as Senator Stern), an unseen threat comes from Russia in the form of Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), whose Whiplash armor looks suspiciously like Stark’s own (even though Stark swears no one could know the arc-core design), his chief rival, Justin Hammer (another piece of swell casting—scene-stealer Sam Rockwell), wants to jump ahead in the arms-technology race, and, in an unexpected turn, the arc reactor that saved Stark’s life (the glowing chest piece that powers his suit and keeps the shrapnel from his heart) turns out be poisonous, now gradually killing Stark unless he can find something powerful – and stable – enough to replace it.
There’s also the matter of his company, now headed by his old assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow, lovely like always), a rift with his best pal Rhodey (Don Cheadle, taking over for Terrence Howard in one of this sequel’s biggest missteps), a curvy, mysterious new assistant (Scarlett Johansson), and the shady Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, owning the role) who keeps pushing Stark to realize his destiny and join some “super-secret boy band” (Stark’s words, not mine. What do you think that refers to?) That’s a lot to put on Tony Stark’s plate, and as psyched as he was to be a superhero 6 months ago, he realizes here that perhaps he took on far more than he could handle in his (now dwindling) life span.
I mentioned this sequel had problems, and, just from reading the summary, you could tell that the filmmakers took on a lot of different story threads, something that diminishes the character journeys here, and makes the action look more arbitrary than plot-driven. I’ll get back to that in a bit, but in terms of positive qualities, all of those threads are interesting in their own right. I liked watching Stark struggle to make his life mean something, especially after the incredible high he felt in declaring himself to be a global protector. Ditto the arrival of Mickey Rourke, who, with that great, weary, heavy-burden-carrying presence of his (not to mention some respectable Russian skills), makes a solid foil for Tony Stark (at least in theory).
Plus, what’s amazing about these films (inspired, no doubt, by Downey’s own performance style) is how rapid-fire and witty the dialogue is, almost like an old screwball comedy at times. I watched it twice now, and I loved how I missed certain jokes the first time around, or how I was so busy listening to one person that the other’s reactions completely flew by me. That is a rare thing for a big-budget blockbuster, and it‘s especially great to see this immensely gifted cast in such a loose, playful setting – watching them play with and challenge their co-stars is one of the biggest treats in this film. Best of all, the film gives some nice closure to the Pepper Potts/Tony Stark relationship, so wonderfully started in the first film. Their adorable bickering and romantic tension was my absolute favorite part of Iron Man. I think a lot of fans will be satisfied by where these two end up through the course of the sequel, and Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow (in what is becoming one of her most charming and effortless performances) continue to make a great pair, with both actors equally matched in their terrific verbal spars. What I like best about those two is that they are intelligent grown-ups, and not lovelorn teenagers whose biggest hurdle is confessing their feelings. They’re a sensible, very believable, very entertaining pair, and I honestly think Iron Man has the best superhero romance of all such movies. (Even in The Dark Knight, the holy grail of comic-book films, the Bruce/Rachel love story was more of a plot necessity than an emotionally engaging part of the series…and the less said about Spider-Man’s whiny, horrendously annoying Mary Jane Watson, the better).
So what am I grumbling about? If I loved the characters and the acting – not to mention the laughs and inherent sweetness to many of the scenes – why can’t I recommend this as at least a good film? Because, in the end, it felt incomplete to me. There is certainly a lot of thought placed into this second chapter of Tony Stark’s adventures, but I have a feeling that its unbearably-fast production schedule took a toll on some much-needed creative decisions. Think about it: the first Iron Man came out in summer 2008. That means the entire sequel had to be written, cast, shot, and edited (with all special effects intact) in a meager two years. That’s lightning-fast for a production of this scale – The Dark Knight had a whole three years after Batman Begins (plus, it seemed like its storyline was brainstormed long before that script had to be finalized), and, in that light, I think Iron Man 2 needed some extra time to finesse its ideas. What we have here are plenty of strong character and story choices that needed to be better organized to make the entire package more cohesive, as well as more relevant for the further development of Tony Stark, the character.
Take, for instance, the two villains. Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko are respectable choices on paper. Both of them act as flipsides to Tony Stark and his alter ego. Vanko is the anti-Iron Man, a scientist who uses similar technology for selfish, purely evil reasons. Iron Man wished to save the world, while Vanko/Whiplash only sought to take out Stark for a personal vendetta. Hammer, then, is the anti-Stark, a weapons manufacturer who lacks the fierce intelligence and savvy of his rival, and who simply wants to eliminate the competition for good. From the good superhero sequels, like The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 2, we know that the ones that succeed manage to tie their villains into the personal issues faced by the hero, to make one unified theme in both the secret identity and superhero spheres. With the Joker, Batman/Bruce Wayne had to confront a nemesis who operated with no rules, no semblance of moral order, fueled by anarchy and chaos, a direct contrast to the upstanding, rigid-rules-abiding hero that Batman represented (which, of course, affected Bruce Wayne’s life choices as well). While Vanko and Hammer briefly touch on Stark’s own demons (both in his heroic and regular identities), like so many things in this sequel, those similarities never extend far enough to become fleshed-out ideas for the movie in whole (even Jeff Bridges' Iron Monger - lame a villain as he was - was a cool little metaphor for the type of cold, heartless arms-business perspective Stark swore to abandon for good). In the end, Hammer plays no role but providing money for Vanko to build some more suits, and, consequently, Vanko simply finds himself transformed from multi-dimensional, sympathetic bad guy into a video-game-like boss in the film’s climax. All in all, I think it’s time for Iron Man to have a real villain -- not another guy in a pumped-up techno-suit, but someone who actually challenges him intellectually as well as physically. Vanko and Hammer represent a move toward that direction, though perhaps it’s time to finally take on the Mandarin, Iron Man’s chief nemesis, who I’m guessing the filmmakers avoided because he skews toward the supernatural, in direct contrast to the more-or-less reality-based world Stark inhabits (then again, this should be easier to tackle once the Norse God of Thunder, Thor, is introduced into the Marvel universe next summer).
In another seemingly unfinished idea, I never bought the film’s suggestion that Iron Man brought about global (or, at the very least, American) peace. I’m sure he would put a major dent in crime, but to stop it all completely is just wishful thinking, and almost seemed like a ploy by the filmmakers to avoid any expensive action scenes. Just the same, the quote that opened my review could have taken the sequel down a very interesting, darker path, but the results of Stark’s first clash with Whiplash are shown on a minimal scale, hardly the “blood in the water” scenario cooked up by Ivan Vanko. Once the chinks in Iron man’s armor were shown – once you could see that he is not infallible by any means – that should have led to some sort of loss of public faith. A bit of context would have greatly helped, both before the movie got under way (ie, Iron Man stopping a robbery, foiling a terrorist attack, etc – anything just to show that he’s still at work making this world safe) and after the confrontation with the chief villain (ie, people distancing themselves from him, losing their trust in Tony Stark’s ability to maintain their safety).
This next part will be a bit SPOILER-y, so feel free to skip over it if you still want to be surprised when you see the movie. I need to mention it because one the film’s big reveals is also one of its chief script problems.
Finally, perhaps my biggest gripe is the lack of a concrete theme. This film brings out a few – Stark’s mortality, the greater superhero universe of The Avengers and what that means for Iron Man, and, most notably, the relationships between brilliant fathers and their sons. The latter is the most problematic: Stark is facing off with Vanko because of his father’s supposed mistreatment of Vanko’s, and yet no real substance is added to this part of the film. In fact, the entire section dealing with Stark’s father seems like a throwaway compared to the rest of the events transpiring here. (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT) Why exactly would Howard Stark’s great ambitions for Tony revolve around the discovery of a new element, one that just happens to power up his suit? If it’s important for later films in the Iron Man series, then, by all means, I respect that. Judging by this specific film, though, that just seemed awfully convenient, and, sadly, rather pointless (although major bonus points for casting Mad Men’s John Slattery as Howard Stark—I’d watch Roger Sterling in anything!). The fathers plotline is forgotten by the end, and when Vanko and Stark duke it out in the climax, it felt like it was happening because the audience had to be "wowed" with some stuff exploding, and not the culmination of two flawed sons fighting for the legacies of their fathers. Same with The Avengers set-up (which, to be fair, was awesome in so many geeky ways) and Tony’s health crisis – none of these ideas is given the attention they deserve, and each up being under-served. The first film knew exactly what it wanted to do – show the transformation of Tony Stark, the brilliant, boozy, womanizing rascal into a hero worth celebrating – with the invention of the suit symbolizing Stark’s own evolution into a man who deserves to keep living. Here, the story introduces so many things for Stark to experience that it dilutes the power of its arguably strongest element – Stark’s drink-fueled breakdown (a nod to the legendary comic-book arc, “Demon in a Bottle”) and coming to grips with his own potential demise. It’s too bad -- perhaps a little more screen time to work with - or a few more drafts of the script - could have made this more focused and direct, trimming the elements that weren’t entirely necessary (as much as I love Samuel L. Jackson and his organization, S.H.I.E.L.D., it didn’t need to play such a prominent role in this sequel…besides providing Avengers hints, of course) and pumping up the ones that would truly resonate with audiences.
End of MAJOR SPOILERS…
One final quibble: when Don Cheadle stepped in to replace Terrence Howard after the latter’s scuffle with Marvel, I was actually enthusiastic. I liked Howard very much in the original (particularly his chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. and that great, now-ironic moment when he looked at the Iron Man armor and said: “Next time, baby!”), but, honestly, I find Cheadle to be a stronger actor and – judging by the Ocean’s movies – funnier and quicker on his feet when it comes to improvising. Here, though, most likely due to the underdeveloped script, his Rhodey comes off stiff and surprisingly bland. If I didn’t know Stark and Rhodey were best friends from the first movie, I wouldn’t have believed it here; it probably would have made more sense to fight for Terrance Howard to stay for continuity’s (and chemistry’s) sake, especially if the character was going to be shortchanged to make room for some new players. The first film gave us a memorable friendship between these two guys. I’ve seen pairs like this before – the troublemaker and the straight arrow – two unlikely pals who, for reasons we can’t quite see, bring out the best in one another. Unfortunately, here they come off like two causal acquaintances, and, while Downey and Cheadle finally have some good moments near the end, they get so little time to interact that Cheadle’s re-casting – and, really the whole War Machine subplot (being the suit that Rhodey wears to help out Iron Man) – lacks the punch that it needed to become a vital part of this second film. (All that aside, I'm sure that Don Cheadle, easily one of our best actors, will improve once his character gets a meatier, more carefully-written role to play in the next sequel).
I know that sounds like a lot of complaints, but I really did want to love this movie (which is probably why this review took so long—I wanted to figure out exactly why I couldn’t embrace it, despite its many good qualities). The Iron Man movies are completely unlike all other superhero films out there – Christopher Nolan's new Batman series takes the cake for sheer dramatic depth and power, but these films are hilarious, intelligent, and just plain fun, albeit in a clever way that justifies all the explosions and special effects. And, however jumbled the story may be, Downey Jr. still holds it all together in another remarkable performance. It’s amazing that, in addition to just how funny he is in what will probably become his signature role, how much depth Downey brings to the role, how he really makes you feel for the moments where Stark feels his life slipping away, or how much he genuinely cares for Pepper, despite his own super-articulate, talkative ways getting in the way of showing that. When I saw the first film, I thought Tony Stark was the best original movie creation since Captain Jack Sparrow, and I stand by that. We rarely get to see such a perfect match-up of actor and character, and, with Downey in the role, Stark will continue to be the gift that keeps on giving. The rest of the cast does fine work as well, with special mention going to Jon Favreau as Stark’s go-to driver/bodyguard, Happy Hogan (also the film’s director, who probably couldn’t resist amping up his screen time and getting in on the fun) and franchise newbie (SPOILER ALERT) Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman/Russian super-spy (love that my people finally get something cool!), The Black Widow. Johansson really surprised me with how naturally she fit into this world…and how incredibly badass she was in her standout action sequence. If she’s getting set up for her own Black Widow movie, then that sounds like the right way to go (and with the Wonder Woman movie stuck in development hell, isn’t it about time that we get a kickass-female superhero movie?).
So, in the end, stay for these characters and stay for that killer dialogue, not to mention the superb Monaco Grand Prix action sequence that stands as the most thrilling part of the film. And, of course, get ready to geek out over the abundant Marvel superhero references. Catch the Captain America nod, the huge Thor foreshadowing for next summer, and learn exactly when Iron Man 2 fits into the timeframe established by the ending of The Incredible Hulk. (Stick around for the after-credits scene too, although it’s not nearly as cool as the introduction of Nicky Fury at the close of the first Iron Man). Iron Man 2 has its share of problems, all of them likely stemming from not having enough time to fine-tine this screenplay. And yet it’s not a disposable, empty Hollywood blow-‘em-up movie either. I’d suggest catching it in theaters anyway, just with your expectations in check for what will probably not equal the first film’s more assured storytelling and many charms. With Iron Man 3 most likely coming after The Avengers team-up in 2012, I think that should give the filmmakers ample time to cook up something more interesting. Hopefully, in the next go-around, we’ll be in for a more worthy chapter in the always-welcome exploits of Mr. Tony Stark.
And, to close this off, here are some of my favorite lines from the movie (but avoid at all costs if you want to hear these for the first time in the theater!)…
Pepper Potts: "You were dying? And you didn’t tell me?!"
Tony Stark: (resolutely) "I was going to make you an omelet and tell you all about it!"
Tony Stark (to Nicky Fury): "Wait, I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot. Do I address the patch or the eye?"
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson: "We need you."
Tony Stark: "More than you know."
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson: (not missing a beat) "Not that much."
Tony Stark (referencing Senator Stern and the Senate Committee): "I tried playing ball with these ass-clowns!"
P.S. If anyone has the time and/or crazy interest, check out my coverage of the first Iron Man 2 footage ever screened at last year's Comic-Con. It was one of my very first pieces for this blog, and, in retrospect, it might be fun to compare my initial (very, very giddy) impression with how the final movie stacked up.
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