The Tin Man Strikes Back

Iron Man 2

Directed By: Jon Favreau

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, & Mickey Rourke

For those of you who are wondering, no, Iron Man 2 is not as good as its wonderful predecessor, a movie that helped launch the comic book subgenre into legitimacy. The good news, my friends: it is actually a good movie, anyway. It ramps up the action two-fold and introduces a slew of intriguing new characters, all well-played by the new additions to the cast, including the likes of Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson. But, for all that it adds to its storyline, it loses a little bit of the heart and soul that made the first Iron Man an unexpected critical and commercial success back in 2008. Though it starts off on a pitch-perfect note by immediately reintroducing us into the charming life of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and maintains its momentum for a while, shortly after the first showdown between Stark and this movie's signature villain, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), at a soon-to-be-destroyed racetrack, Iron Man 2 hits a wall of sorts that leads it into a noticeably drab slump for the duration of its bulky mid-section. Fortunately for Stark and company, it regains its footing well enough in advance to conclude with a literal bang, an ending that is bigger and better than that of Iron Man in just about every way imaginable and lets the audience leave on a high note that will surely stick with them more than the slightly disappointing middle.

To go through all of the many different plots and subplots of Iron Man 2 would probably get a little tedious; Jon Favreau has certainly crafted a more ambitious movie than he did with the first one. Still, I'll try to sum it up as best I can. Basically, Tony Stark is riding high off of the positive publicity he has received after publicly announcing that he is, indeed, Iron Man. He is treated like a superstar by his adoring fans, but the American government wants the Iron Man weapon for military use. They figure that an evidently unstable lothario like Stark shouldn't be responsible for a weapon that has single-handedly brought about world peace. Another weapons manufacturer, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), hopes to bring Stark down and create his own line of robotic warrior suits. He enlists the aid of the volatile Ivan Vanko, a physicist who believes that his father was taken advantage of by Stark's father and, therefore, wants revenge. As Vanko builds an army of elite remote-controlled warriors, Stark races to find a way to save his own life, when the machine that is keeping him alive begins to slowly poison him. There is more to the movie than just this, but these are undeniably the most important plot points; the rest, like a sexy new spy (Scarlett Johansson) in Tony's life, are just sprinkles on top of an already over-caloric sundae.

There is a common problem that plagues many comic book sequels: the desire to make it bigger by introducing too many new characters, too many new themes, etc. Certainly, Jon Favreau borders on this, as he riskily introduces two new villains, one new good guy, a different interpretation of an already-present good guy, and the expansion of an original love interest's role. Under a less effective director and a less efficient writer than Justin Theroux, this amount of plot would have been insurmountable. Together, they actually make it work. Everything is given enough time to play out properly and, though they do contribute to the mid-section slump, they also make for a richer, more compelling movie than I expected. Rourke was a fantastic addition to the cast; he slips so effortlessly into the role of Ivan and manages to elicit both hatred and sympathy from the viewer. Rockwell is wonderfully diabolical as the treacherous Hammer; there are so many ways that he could be used in future sequels that his addition seems more like investment into the franchise's future than an immediate payoff. Scarlett Johansson deserves a special mention because, let's face it, she looks great in a skintight catsuit and also delivers a surprisingly solid performance. Johansson's a great actress, but her character is given very little to do besides look good and kick ass; she does both and more, standing out in a movie in which, I imagine, it might have been difficult to avoid being overshadowed. These three make for great new additions.

Fear not Robert Downey Jr. fans (myself included), this is very much still his movie. I will proudly say and defend to the death (well...to minor injury) that he is the best actor tackling any of the new superhero incarnations. Tony Stark and, thus, Iron Man is simply the best superhero, as well. A troubled man dealing with his own inner demons as well as his self-professed narcissism, he is a completely infectious character who has a long road to travel, both psychologically and physically. I find his imperfections wonderfully provocative and compelling, even more so than the action sequences, as spellbinding as they are. But, it is still true that Iron Man 2 is not the nearly flawless and completely amazing movie that its predecessor was. For the first time, there are some kinks in Iron Man's armor. The action is still stupendous, the acting is still top-notch, and the humor is still refreshingly welcome...but there is just something missing. I didn't feel that we were really able to explore Tony Stark's mind and heart as we were in Iron Man and his relationship with the delightful Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is decidedly less charming. All of these things stop Iron Man 2 from keeping its momentum going strong throughout the runtime, even if it does start strongly and end wonderfully. Still, Iron Man 2 will continue to beguile its already-established fans and will probably win over some more. Let's put it like this: I'm still a big fan and I'm anxiously looking forward to Iron Man 3.