Iron Man 2 Review (contains spoilers)

Two years after the original came out of nowhere, ol’ shellhead returns to the big screen, and with no batsuits or spider webs anywhere in sight, he might get the summer all to himself. But would he deserve it?

Well, kind of.

I am not one of those who thought that the original Iron Man was the second coming of superhero movies and the best “cape” movie ever (that would be The Dark Knight). I also thought as a film it wasn’t a million miles better than the other Marvel of summer ’08- The Incredible Hulk. So I came to IM2 more level headed than most, expecting a good, fun comic book movie- and that’s exactly what Iron Man 2 is.

Following the sequel rule that all second instalments must be darker than the original, Iron Man 2 finds Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr) being attacked by his own Government after the United States classify the Iron Man suit as a weapon, and begin the process for the potential seizure of the suit. Along with U.S.A, Stark finds his relationships strained with his faithful sidekick Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and his ally in the Armed Forces Jim Rhodes (Don Cheadle), who is torn between his loyalty to his friend and his duty to his country. The new faces include Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) as a slimy rival weapons manufacturer who gets hold of Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke); a twisted Russian genius with a grudge against the Stark family, and Scarlett Johansson as Starks’ new assistant with a secret.

I guess it’s not accurate to call this film dark, as it never reaches the levels of X2 or Hulk, let alone the abyss of darkness that is the Batman sequel. It would be fairer to say this instalment is not quite as light as its predecessor, never fully committed to going where the story wants to go, such as the revelation that continued use of the suit is poisoning Stark, or the betrayal of his best friend after Rhodes steals the Mark 2 suit. Instead these ideas are played out for laughs, or in the case of Rhodes, not really dealt with at all. These laughs are the ones I resented, as they served as punch lines to interesting ideas, as cheap ways out.

There were plenty of laughs welcomed however, as the Iron Man franchise has a weapon no other superhero film has- Robert Downey, Jr. As long as Downey’s Stark is on screen, the film always flies, even without the suit. I never knew a man throwing away some fruit could be so laugh out loud funny, or Starks petulant attacks at Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury. Tony Stark is a fantastically entertaining character in his own right, which is a godsend as Iron Man suffers the Incredible Hulk’s problem of having the superhero alter ego being mostly a special effect, which more often than not fails to convince. Surprisingly the suit is used sparingly, as in a brave move the sequel forgoes the usual montage of superhero action around the world, so prevalent in Superman films.

At the end of the day the film was an entertaining escapade, no more, no less. While not as good as it’s predecessor, the film still reaches the high end of the Marvel film library due mainly to Robert Downey, Jr’s performance and some great action moments. Enjoy, knowing you’re not watching the best of Marvel, but certainly nowhere near the worst. Roll on Iron Man 3.