“Iron Man 2” arrives on-scene like a rock star — both the character and the movie itself.
Loud, glitzy and accompanied by pyrotechnics and high-kicking cheerleaders, Robert Downey Jr.’s character is one we’ve come to know and love: unabashedly arrogant with an ingratiating, self-aware charm, just like he was in the first film —a point that is important in successful sequels, as so often the character in round two doesn’t live up to the standards we’ve come to expect. That said, in “Iron Man 2” somehow Downey is even better this go ‘round.
Perhaps it’s that the cast includes an impressive list of Oscar nominees and winners in its lineup, (Don Cheadle, Downey, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson and Gwyneth Paltrow). Or, perhaps it’s the writing — epitomized in cleverness in a line made during a Senate hearing in which Downey defines Iron Man’s body suit as merely a “high-tech prosthetic — not a weapon.”
What is clear is that the chemistry — the effects, the humor — all work in this $133.6-million, box-office hit which marked the fifth-biggest opening of all time.
The best of the chemistry comes between Downey and Paltrow (Pepper Potts) as they roll their interchange between suave and sweet into a witty and endearing exchange that underlies their sexual tension with surprising charm for a comic-book action film.
It gets even better when Scarlet Johansson, Natasha, ‘from legal,’ as she says, is added to the mix, putting Downey in his place and grounding Paltrow’s character further.
The rest of a superb supporting cast all mix well to concoction, with perhaps the exception Rourke, who plays Ivan Vanko, a Russian physicist and arms trainer with a vendetta. Not any discredit to Rourke — he’s quite believable. The darkly-menacing character he is doesn’t set in well with the lighter, wise-cracking action the rest of the movie takes on. But it is nonetheless entertaining to witness his ease at menacing.
Despite this one small mismatch, overall the characters’ wits play off each other well.
Ironically, what the movie doesn’t do as well are its action sequences — with the exception of a well-choreographed beat-down by Johansson of several nameless security personnel.
This fight scene trumps the better-equipped and what-should-be-epic battles between Iron Man and his foes. While Johansson takes an entire crew down, Director Jon Favreau in the same amount of time knocks out merely one opponent. As director, surely Favreau knew this was one of the best scenes and therefore imposed himself accordingly. Well done, Jon.
That said, it is the fact this movie does a better job at its interaction between its characters than its action sequences that makes Iron Man a bit of an odd duck in the summer-blockbuster genre.
But when you consider the cast, it should not come as any surprise that their talent beats any special effect.
Overall, when compared to other movies made from the Marvel Comics brand, “Iron Man” 1 and 2 are standouts. While “X-men” movies had a sense of realism that rang true for their comic books as well, “Fantastic Four” movies fell flat by failing to utilize the potential of the characters’ superpowers.
“Iron Man 2” stands out on the strength of its cast, its wit and its ability to laugh at itself, which is probably why it has hit a level of success that its other, more-popular comic brethren haven’t found.
