Viewed in
2010
Premise
Robert Downey Jr returns as Iron Man/Tony Stark, who must deal with illness, Mickey Rourke's electric whips, jealous industrial rivals, and possessive U.S. government.
Loved
The funny dialogue, and Downey's performance.
Disliked
The Cheadle/Downey fight scene.
Thoughts
About as good as the first Iron Man. For sequels, this was a victory in my book.
As expected, Downey was fantastically charming, and the chemistry between him and Gwenyth Paltrow was impeccable and adorable. The rest of the cast was solid, including curvaceous Scarlett Johannson, badass Samuel L. Jackson, and greedy Sam Rockwell. As for Don Cheadle, let's just say I did not miss Terence Howard at all.
By the way, ballsy move by director Jon Favreau to give himself a bigger role as Stark's assistant. It easily could have fallen flat, or perceived to be egotistical by the audience. Instead, his character blended in fine with the plot and the humor.
Similarly to the original, the style was light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek. There was a lot of funny lines and repartee between Downey and Paltrow. Though I found the hilarious Captain America shout-out to be gut-busting. Another high comedy moment was Paltrow's character discovering a secret during a high-tension action scene.
Just like the first, there were some well-done special effects. This was filled with weaponized robots, flying iron men, and explosions. In addition, the suitcase scene (spoiled in the trailer) and Iron Man's secret weapon scene were very cool that provoked some "oh s***"'s from the audience.
While the strengths between the two films were similar, sadly, so were the flaws. Other than the two scenes I mentioned, the rest of the action lacked that "oomph" factor to make me want to watch it again. Mickey Rourke's antagonist was not interesting (not to mention indecipherable), and the rest of the opposition hardly made for any formidable threat to our beloved protagonists.
The worst part of the film was the "argument" scene between Downey and Cheadle's characters. For lack of a better word, that scene was juvenile. It stuck out badly compared to the rest of the (mostly) sharp, intelligent plot, and I had trouble believing these characters would stoop to that.
Even though the good/bad stuff in Iron Man 2 was identical to its predecessor, does not mean both films were the same. It was fun and a good start to the summer season. I definitely recommend it for the lovable Robert Downey Jr./Gwenyth Paltrow moments and story building towards the Avengers movie. Speaking of, there was a teaser after the credits.
What I would change
Written a more formidable antagonist.
