Review

Review Date: 9-May-10
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Iron Man 2 (2010)

It is hard to believe that Iron Man resurrected the career of Robert Downey Jr. just two years ago. Opening the blockbuster season with Iron Man 2, he looks so much the movie star, so much the talent in his surefooted prime that the idea of him as an addict who nearly tanked without truly making it seems absurd. Of course, the role of billionaire arms-maker Tony Stark accentuates the image of confidence, and few other actors could pull it off. Stark is largely offensive yet Downey tempts viewers to like him. He offsets selfishness with mettle, immaturity with a quick mind and clever tongue, and he works those big brown eyes in the service of naughty and nice. Although my review of Iron Man expressed a wish for the sequel to ignore his repentance in favor of the glorified techno-violence he represents, I am gratified now to see him learning (possibly) from a few hard lessons. Because of this and some decent action, the sequel tops the original by a hair.

Yet while the star of Iron Man 2 has my approval (albeit lukewarm), the movie as a whole does not. It irks me with repeated attempts to set up future films for the crime-fighting team known as the "Avengers." Hollywood has been salivating over the idea of a mass superhero flick for quite some time, and I say hire Joss Whedon to direct already so he can get on with it. In the meantime, don't let it or its other offshoots dictate the plot of a movie that ought to stand on its own. Tony Stark's story — already laden with face-offs involving a vengeful physicist (Mickey Rourke) and jealous rival (Sam Rockwell), tense encounters with his military friend (Don Cheadle), and ongoing romance with his platonic better half (Gwyneth Paltrow) — suffers from the infiltration of would-be Avengers played by Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson. Sure, they look cool, but they feel distracting and superfluous. So does the scene in which director Jon Favreau grants his own minor character a moment to shine. While the director and protagonist might benefit from reduced egotism, the movie would have benefitted from focusing more on itself. Tony Stark's exaggerated persona and unique personal/professional/political situation could have sufficed for a sequel without constant reminders that there might be something bigger still to come.

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