Jeff Bridges has often recalled walking on to the set of
Iron Man with
no script to work from. Despite that apparent lack of direction, the debut outing for the Marvel hero fans affectionately call Shellhead was a highly effective origin tale with a barnstorming performance from Robert Downey Jr (an unlikely action hero two years ago). Freewheeling on a $200 million budget is a risky strategy, and it appears that director Jon Favreau has tried the same trick again for the sequel with screenwriter Justin Theroux's storyline. A few rewrites would have benefited, because
Iron Man 2 is flabby, unfocused and, criminally, quite dull in places.
It kicks off by introducing Mickey Rourke's Russian physicist Ivan Vanko as he tends to his fading father. It transpires that Vanko helped develop new technology with Tony Stark's father Howard (
Mad Men's John Slattery) but never got credit. When Ivan's father passes away, he reinvents himself as a supervillain with designs on hunting down Stark Jr. Over in the US, the senate is pressuring Tony to hand over his Iron Man technology to the military, while his industrial rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) is attempting to forge his own money-making robotic armour. There's also a new cast addition in the form of Scarlett Johansson's sexy secretary Natalie and reprisals for Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Rhodey (Don Cheadle in place of Terrence Howard) and, bafflingly, an expanded comic relief role for Tony's bodyguard Happy (Favreau).
It's this crowded nature that bogs down the movie. Remember when the
Batman series got silly with its multiple villains and sidekicks syndrome? This is a bit like that, but thankfully not quite falling into the day-glo camp of Joel Schumacher's caped crusader outings. Furthermore, Marvel has an
Avengers movie in sight and the intent to weave in pieces of the puzzle early - such as Captain America's shield, Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury and Johansson's Black Widow - makes
Iron Man 2 a lot of set-up and no payoff.
Rourke is watchable as the cockatoo-loving baddie Whiplash who teams up with Hammer, a man desperate to get out of Stark's shadow. Rockwell, too, is very good, delivering a performance that's both creepy and charismatic. However, the crackle that was present between Downey Jr and Paltrow last time out isn't here. As the newly appointed Stark Industries CEO, Pepper's overriding job requirement seems to be to constantly nag at Tony and their back-and-forth bickering comes across more like sibling rivalry than romantic tension.
In fairness, the movie is entertaining when it's not dumping plot exposition and clunkily foreshadowing "super-secret boyband"
The Avengers (Tony's words, not mine!). A sequence at the Moncao Grand Prix is pretty exhilarating and Scarlett Johansson's big action set piece shows her as a competent (and flexible) ass-kicker. Ultimately, though, it represents a significant drop in quality from its engaging and fun predecessor.
Iron Man was a rare blockbuster that stayed with you - the sequel all but evaporates the moment it cuts to black.
2/5
And I've really got to admire him a person, considering what he's been through.
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