Continuing our look back at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, today Tom Pheby revisits Iron Man 2.
Sequels can be a
perilous, pointless and sometimes frivolous affair, often trying to
emulate the success of the previous outing without ever quite hitting
the same mark. Although Iron Man 2 doesn't come up with any radical
story changes or plot shifts, it's certainly steady enough to leave
you wanting another helping. It follows a trend of incorporating
elements from the present day (similar to X-Men) to provide
credibility, and in doing so keeps you thinking, stimulated and
entertained.
It's interesting that
Tony Stark/Iron Man contradicts the traditional hero persona so
comprehensively. Stark revels in the limelight and adulation and is
clearly his own biggest fan but we somehow feel the need to cheer for
him regardless. Possibly for this reason, it's quite difficult to
imagine anyone other than Robert Downey Jr playing the conceited and
unpleasant Tony Stark. It's a testament to his acting ability that he
not only delivers the obnoxious, self serving and egotistical side of
the character but also manages to make him irritatingly likable. How
does he do this? Who knows! Yet RDJ manages to crank up the levels
when he needs to appear insufferable whilst also making Tony
Stark/Iron Man vulnerable enough for us to want to put a consoling
arm around his metallic shoulder. Not bad for a man who
spent years in the cinematic wilderness thanks to drug abuse. He has
risen from the ashes of a spent career to establish himself as a damn
fine actor who is highly watchable. You feel that in the hands of
another less competent actor, the lines between the two aspects of
the characters negative and positive might well blur and end up in
the realms of farce.
Along with Downey Jr,
Iron Man 2 also features another actor who has battled personal
demons, Mickey Rourke. Rouke has come a long way from his dreary
fridge porn flick, Nine and a Half Weeks, to become a credible actor.
Gone are his days of having to pop strawberries in someone's mouth or
drizzle them in chocolate sauce. Of course, he's barely recognizable
from that period now, with a head so full of Botox that it has
reached its cranial limits, and a body that resembles a Leonardo Di
Vinci sketch book. I sat up and paid attention when Rourke starred in
The Wrestler, and I've since added it to my list of favorite films.
In Iron Man 2 he undoubtedly shines as Ivan Vanko who is hell bent on
revenge on behalf of his father. Who better to vent your spleen
on than a gobby billionaire that seems to have it all? Rourke gives it all that
he's got, with as little as he was given, and turns Vanko's scenes into the more memorable moments of the movie.
We also get Sam
Rockwell as Justin Hammer. Rockwell struggles to find the perfect
vehicles to showcase his talents, going from first class performances
in films such as the The Green Mile and Frost/Nixon, to doing himself
absolutely no favours by appearing in the nauseatingly naff Charlie's
Angels (complete with a trio of distinctly vacuous glamour pusses
whose only skill was to shoot whilst spinning through the air and
applying lippy). Here Rockwell almost gives you the impression that
he's taking his career seriously again and offers up a solid
performance as Hammer, a rival arms dealer who wants to take poll
position in this dubious profession, and guess who is in the way ...
Yup, Tony Stark.
It's a sort of rehash
of seven deadly sins in some respects. Greed, Envy and Wrath are all
key ingredients and if you throw in Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow)
and Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) you could even include Lust.
Johansson is an unexpected bonus in Iron Man 2, as it sees us first introduced to her
Avengers character Black Widow. It's easy to see that this was part
of a marketing exercise for the future film, but I can't say it's an
unpleasant affair. She cavorts around the place looking for subjects
to kick, slap or squeeze between her thighs with a degree of glee and
manages to brighten things up in a way that Pepper Potts fails to do.
John Favreau returned to
the directors chair and made this a fun energetic ride with stand
out effects, ably assisted by a script that reflects on
Military/Government shenanigans and corruption, the best of which is
typified by the performance of the recently departed Garry Shandling as Senator Stern.
Stern wants exclusive rights to the Iron Man project for the armed
forces which Stark declines. In the middle of all these threads we
learn that Stark is dying, poisoned by his own suit - what's a guy
gotta do to get a break!
Meanwhile Hammer hires
Vanko to design a superior version of the Iron Man suit that will
make Stark's appear like the flimsy Tin Man costume from The Wizard of
Oz. So the stage is predictably set for a no holds barred macho
mechanical brawl, not too far removed from the end of the first
installment, which is a pity.
The best part for me
was when Vanko sniffs out Stark at the Monaco Grand Prix and starts
chopping the place to pieces with twin electric whips, carving up
everything in his path to get to Stark without his metal suit. This
part of the movie is visually extraordinary, but what is more
mystifying is that Vanko resembles a refugee from Primark.
When Iron Man 2 gets it
right, it's an undeniable treat, but it stops short of the first
installment and only keeps going forward on the shoulders of Downey
Jr's presence. On reflection it's a decent follow up that is worthy
of that empty slot on the DVD shelf, but it doesn't bring anything
new (apart from those effects) and as a result is not as satisfying
as the first.
Script Writer, Poet, Blogger and junk television specialist. Half
English, half Irish and half Alsatian, Tom is well known for insisting
on being called Demetri for reasons best known to himself. A former film
abuser and telly addict who shamefully skulks around his home town
of Canterbury after dark dressed as Julie Andrews. Follow Tom on Twitter
