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| Poster artwork for the action adventure film Iron Man 2. |
Standard
Sequel by Linh
The first Iron Man
film was an unexpected and thrilling viewing experience, becoming an instant
hit and catapulted Robert Downey Jr. to super-stardom after years in the
cinematic wilderness. The sequel was
highly anticipated and much hyped, but sadly, the result is ordinary. Even
though Iron Man 2 is released in 3D,
it has made little difference in enhancing the story, but would definitely
bring in more money.
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METAL
MATES: Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and James Rhodes
/ War Machine (Don Cheadle) join forces to battle Whiplash's robot drones in
the film Iron Man 2. Image: Paramount Pictures.
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Iron
Man 2 retains only minimal amounts of the snappy spontaneity
in dialogue, clever editing is diminished, solid characterisation is scarce and
the middle drags on for too long. The sequel loses some of the spark seen in
the first Iron Man, but the
performances are strong enough to sustain interest.
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RUSSIAN
ROUGE: Ivan Vanko / Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) seals a deal with
Justin Hammer in the film Iron Man 2.
Image: Paramount Pictures.
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The film opens in Russia, with the death of Anton Vanko
(Yevgeni Lazarev), Ivan’s father, and reveals he was working alongside Howard
Stark (John Slattery), Tony’s father, in creating a uniquely powerful piece of
technology. Ivan (Mickey Rourke) cradles his dead father in his arms as he vows
revenge against Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), while a cockatoo watches on
forlornly.
The dark and depressing scenes in Russia are strongly
contrasted with Tony Stark’s latest expo promoting his technological creations
that depict shiny new armour under bright, colourful lights, surrounded by
wealthy and prolific people.
Tony Stark reveals to the public via the media that he is
Iron Man and he will use his technology to benefit humanity. He is then seen
defending himself and his technology at a Senate Inquiry chaired by Senator
Stern (Garry Shandling), against claims of his technology being dangerous to
society and it can be used as a weapon to cause destruction and death.
The audience soon discovers Tony Stark is ill and he
believes he may be dying. He promptly
promotes his assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) to be Chief Executive of
his company and hands over much of his duties to her. Meanwhile, Ivan Vanko is
building one of the most formidable and destructive armour/weapon in
preparation for a fight to the death against Iron Man.
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WILD
WHIPPING: Ivan Vanko / Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) stops and destroys
traffic on the Grand Prix circuit in the film Iron Man 2. Image: Paramount Pictures.
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The leading cast remains the same, with the exception of
James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes, who was originally played by Terrence Howard and
replaced by Don Cheadle in the sequel. In Iron
Man 2, Rhodey gets some mean and mighty action as War Machine, but he lacks
the sincerity, which Terrence Howard exuded in the first film.
Robert Downey Jr. continues to impress as the billionaire
Tony Stark/Iron Man, but he needs more action and less moping around in this
sequel. Gwyneth Paltrow is gorgeous as Pepper Potts, who is feisty and
ferociously independent as in the first film, but hardly features in the
sequel.
Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke is a stand out as Ivan Vanko/
Whiplash, a villainous Russian hell-bent on avenging his father’s death and
creating an outfit complete with electrifying whips to annihilate Tony
Stark/Iron Man. Ivan’s love for a pet cockatoo shows a softer side underneath
his rough and muscular exterior.
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MYSTERIOUS
MAIDEN: Natalie Rushman /Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)
hides her double identity in the film Iron
Man 2. Image: Paramount Pictures.
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Director Jon Favreau co-stars as Tony Stark’s chauffeur
and assistant Harold ‘Happy’ Hogan, bringing some comic relief but at times
fails to conjure up enough laughs from the audience.
A new addition to the ensemble cast is the alluring
Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman / Natasha Romanoff, the assistant to
Pepper Potts. Johansson trained hard to perfect her leaps, swings and swift
moves for her role, but is sorely under-used as the mysterious Black Widow.
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SECRETIVE
SPY:
Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) assists Tony Stark / Iron Man with some cryptic
information in the film Iron Man 2.
Image: Paramount Pictures.
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Samuel L. Jackson appears in only a few scenes as the
eye-patched Nick Fury, but is a welcome sight for his mysterious references to
a secret team (possibly the Avengers) and his solid performance.
Sam Rockwell is a pleasant surprise as Tony Stark’s rival
Justin Hammer, whose attempts to emulate Stark’s success fails spectacularly.
Justin is comical but detestable and is a main supporter of Ivan/Whiplash in
destroying Tony/Iron Man.
Overall, Iron Man 2
needs to speed up the pace in action and drama, dialogue needs to be quick,
clever and surprising, the fight scenes require better editing and the special
effects are average. However, the talented cast is excellent, the soundtrack is
fantastic with AC/DC songs blaring during the end credits and in the film. If
you wait until the end of the credits, you’ll get a sneak peak at a teaser for
the upcoming film Thor which stars
Chris Hemsworth in the title role.
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AGILE
ASSAILANT: Natalie Rushman / Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson)
is swift and silent as Black Widow in the film Iron Man 2. Image: Paramount Pictures.
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Director: Jon
Favreau
Writers:
Justin Theroux (screenplay), Stan Lee (Marvel comic book), Don Heck (Marvel
comic book), Larry Lieber (Marvel comic book), Jack Kirby (Marvel comic book).
Cast:
Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey
Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, John Slattery, Clark Gregg, Garry
Shandling, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau, Olivia Munn , Christiane Amanpour, Kate
Mara, Leslie Bibb, Adam Goldstein, Stan Lee, Jack White, Larry Ellison
Producers: Alan
Fine, Stan Lee, David Maisel, Denis L. Stewart, Louis D’Esposito, Jon Favreau,
Susan Downey, Jeremy Latcham, Victoria Alonso
Cinematographer:
Matthew Libatique (Director of Photography)
Original
Music Composer: John Debney
Film
Editors: Dan Lebental, Richard Pearson
Production: J.
Michael Riva (Production Designer), Suzan Wexler, Page Buckner, David F.
Klassen, Michael E. Goldman (Art Directors), Lauri Gaffin (Set Decorator)
Costume
Designer: Mary Zophres
Languages:
English, French, Russian with English subtitles
Running
Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes.
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