This is going to be a fairly easy review. If you liked the first one, this should make you happy. Now, I’m a comic book fan but I didn’t read Iron Man, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of following the comics and what not, but as a movie, this thing was big and fun. John Favreau directs Iron Man 2 from a script by Justin Theroux and they seem to be handling things well thus far.
This is going to be a fairly easy review. If you liked the first one, this should make you happy. Now, I’m a comic book fan but I didn’t read Iron Man, so I can’t vouch for the accuracy of following the comics and what not, but as a movie, this thing was big and fun. John Favreau directs Iron Man 2 from a script by Justin Theroux and they seem to be handling things well thus far.
Iron Man 2 has the U.S. government trying to take the Iron Man technology from Tony Stark. Then there’s Ivan Vanko, who’s father helped create the ARC power source of the suit. But Ivan blames Stark for his father’s ruined career and deportation to Siberia. Obviously he wants to put the hurt on Tony Stark. Then there’s Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries, who just wants a piece of Stark’s technology for his own. Then there’s Scarlett Johansson looking super hot and kicking ass as Natasha Romanoff. When will she see the light and marry me? C’mon, Scarlett, I’m not getting any younger – or better looking.
This movie is visually top notch. Once again, the effects are great all around and the action is chock full of fun. And there’s more of it than the first installment which is exactly what they needed to do. The pacing is maybe a little better in this than the first, but you’ll find the same feel, style, and structure in this one. I actually like the way Favreau and Theroux spend some time with the surrounding storylines, giving us some additional information without laying it on too thick. They keep it upbeat like a comic book movie should.
I love all the actors. Robert Downey, Jr. clearly has a great time playing Tony Stark, and it makes me enjoy his time onscreen. Also here is Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer. He is so opportunistic and sleazily capitalistic – the perfect military weapons manufacturer. You just don’t want to like him, but you might anyway. He’s really fun here. Frankly, seeing Sam in the movies Choke and Moon have made him one of my favorite actors of late. I dig Don Cheadle in almost anything and here he slips into the role of James “Rhody” Rhodes with ease. Gary Shandling makes an amusing appearance as Senator Stern. He gets some great lines. And Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko is perfectly serviceable as the Russian villain out for revenge. Rourke lends his own built-in physical creepiness to compensate for a somewhat thinly written comic book villain. Emphasis on comic book, right? And that guy with the eye patch? Yes, that’s Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury again. He’s kinda just like Samuel L. Jackson. Good thing they didn’t change him to, say, Paul Giamatti. That wouldn’t have worked out.
Gwenyth Paltrow is again, great as Pepper Potts, but not as great as Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman/Natasha Romanoff. She was really fun in this and gets to put the whuppin’s on people. Yes, master may I have another?
This is a great opening to the summer movie season, as I think most of us expected. Well, indeed, you won’t be disappointed and that is something you can’t say too often about Hollywood, so you better enjoy it. So have fun, get your popcorn and let this ride help you forget about all the crappy movies of the past few months like After.Life, Repo Men, and the disappointing Alice in Wonderland. Oh, and if you haven’t heard yet, stay until the end of the credits.
~ Neil T. Weakley, your average movie-goer, saying Hello, Summer movie season!
