Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr. – Sherlock Holmes) is facing pressure from the US Government to hand over the technology used to power the Iron Man suit. He is also dealing with the harsh reality that his life-support system is functioning on borrowed time. With his future looking bleak Tony goes off the rails, much to the concern and annoyance of his long suffering personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow – Two Lovers) and best friend Lt. Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle – Oceans 13). But Tony’s life is about to get a whole lot worse when Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler), a Russian criminal with a personal grudge against Tony’s father, surfaces hell bent on destroying Iron Man and Stark’s legacy.
Iron Man burst onto our screens in 2008 and took everyone by surprise. With an engaging script, great characters and superb effects, Iron Man came second only to The Dark Knight that year and instantly made one of Marvel Comics lesser-known characters one of its biggest stars. Iron Man 2 follows on directly from the events of the first film and progresses the story whilst laying the groundwork for future Marvel endeavours like Captain America, S.H.I.E.L.D and The Avengers.
What’s immediately apparent with Iron Man 2 is that it’s a film about Tony Stark and how he handles his superstardom now that the world knows he is Iron Man. This is not a film about endless machine wars. Those expecting a 124 minute gun-fest will be surprised to find that there are only two major action set-pieces in the whole film. But rest assured, these do enough to balance out the whole spectacle and makes Iron Man 2 a worthy sequel and a great watch.
Tony Stark is a brilliant character and having Iron Man 2 explore him further is a bold step to take by director John Favreau and script writer Justin Theroux. The easy option would have been to up the ante and sacrifice the story for a gloss finish. Instead Iron Man 2 uses Tony Stark’s personal problems as a catalyst for the script and fully utilises Robert Downey Jr.’s skills as an actor. There is little to say about Downey Jr. that hasn’t already been said. He owns this role and is perfect as the billionaire charmer. It’s easy to see why these movies work, his natural charm and charisma is all over this film and his flair for the theatrical has rarely been put to better use than as Iron Man.
Robert Downey Jr. is excellent on his own but his chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow is stunning and sets this film apart. They are wonderful onscreen together and totally convince as would-be lovers - if their circumstances were different. Paltrow has never looked better on film and has nailed the role of Pepper Potts down completely. Both she and Stark share just as potent a chemistry as Peter Parker and Mary Jane did in the Spiderman movies.
The supporting characters all do well with Sam Rockwell the pick of the bunch as rival arms manufacturer Justin Hammer. Mickey Rourke really only has to look menacing and muscular as Whiplash but he easily achieves this. Scarlett Johansson is excellent as the beautiful but deadly Black Widow aka Natasha Romanoff. She has one great fight sequence that will leave you wanting more and has a great rapport going with Stark and Pepper Potts. Don Cheadle has replaced Terrence Howard as Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes this time around but his inclusion adds nothing Howard couldn’t have delivered. He’s not bad by any means; it’s just a strange move to change Howard (who was a great Rhodey in Iron Man) with Cheadle. That said he obviously looks like he had fun playing War Machine and his sparring sessions with Tony are good to watch.
The effects are top-drawer and really grab your attention. The attack at the Monaco Grand Prix is enthralling as a bruised and battered Tony confronts Whiplash for the first time. The final battle pitches Iron Man and War Machine against numerous armed droids and is superb. It’s filmed at a relenting pace and will get fan-boys the world over cheering when War Machine starts pummelling out firepower from his arm cannons or when Iron Man uses his repulsors to blast the opposition. If anything, I would have liked the climactic battle to have lasted a bit longer. Having AC/DC’s biggest hits as the soundtrack to Iron Man 2 really helps up the tempo of the action sequences too. The opening shot of Iron Man sweeping through the sky against a backdrop of fireworks is made especially cool thanks to the use of Shoot To Thrill in the background. Highway To Hell also can be heard as the film draws to a close, both classic tracks that personify the character.
There are also noticeable omissions from the final theatrical cut, like the famous trailer scene involving Pepper kissing Tony’s Iron Man mask before throwing it out of a plane. I have no idea why this was cut out as it was a great scene. There was also no extra footage at the end of the credits which was a real shame. A little nudge towards Captain America or Thor would have been geek heaven for us fans.
Iron Man 2 is a wonderful film full of action, adventure and grand-scale effects. The action quota may be lower than expected but it’s clearly done to explore the man behind the mask further. With everyone delivering a stand-out performance, Iron Man 2 is definitely one of the best films of 2010 and will deservedly be a huge box-office success.
Check out the Iron Man 2 soundtrack review
Check out the Iron Man 2 interactive trailer
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