Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 had some big shoes to fill. I loved the first Iron Man and it remains one of the best superhero films ever made. Unfortunately the sequel doesn't match the original in any way.
The first Iron Man worked so well because it kept the story contained and let the characters fill the world. Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark is a joy to watch and letting him do his thing was key to the film's success. This combined with incredibly well executed pacing allowed the plot of Iron Man to build as the movie progressed. In Iron Man 2, however, this happens with distinct irregularity. The best element of the film involves Tony developing some new tech using his father's work as inspiration. These scenes do a fantastic job of channeling the energy of the first film, unfortunately it doesn't last. Too much time is spent on new characters, meaningless side-plots and other distractions. The movie doesn't take many opportunities to breathe and as a result feels rushed at times. To make matters worse the action just isn't up to par with the first film. The scene where Mickey Rourke is whipping Formula 1 cars is particularly bad. Rourke's character is far more interesting than Sam Rockwell's, but he is given a backseat role for most of the film. Gwyneth Paltrow has some nice scenes with Downey, but the addition of more quiet moments between their characters would have been great.
There is a lot to like in Iron Man 2, just not enough to put it on the level of its predecessor. For every compelling, well executed scene there are one or two distractions that take you out of the experience. 3.5/5
Comments
Posted by: Scott Carter
Posted on: May 19, 2010 05:06 AM
Yeah, you are absolutely right in saying that, "the sequel doesn't match the original in any way."
“Iron Man 2” makes two of the same mistakes made by past awful superhero sequels such as “Batman and Robin” and “Spider-Man 3”. It’s too long, and it has too many villains. Even though it’s only slightly over two hours, the film stretches certain things out way too far, and gives short shrift to others.