.
.
Iron Man 2 starts just on the heels of the first Iron Man movie. Watching the worldwide press conference, where Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) admits that he is in-fact Iron Man, is a Russian scientist named Anton Vanko. On his death bed, he tells his son Ivan (Mickey Rourke) to avenge the family name that was destroyed by the Stark family. The son begins with some very old blueprints that have both the Stark and Vanko names on them.
On the other side of the plot, Tony is opening the Stark Expo, a cross between a World’s Fair and Epcot center. With the use of the suit, Tony has brought the world peace. That causes problems for governments, the military and weapons manufacturers. Our hero is called before Congress where Senator Stern (the great Garry Shandling) demands that Tony turn over the suit to the US government so it can be developed as a weapon. Tony assures the politicians that similar technologies developed by different governments are decades away and refuses to relinquish the suit. His main competitor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) of Hammer Industries wants the suit to make it a superior system of attack.
But there are problems in the world of our hero. The artificial mechanism that powers Iron Man and keeps Tony alive has a side effect. It is making Tony’s blood toxic. Iron Man is killing Tony and Tony knows that his time is short. So, he begins a self-destructive path that includes drunkenness and reckless driving at the Grand Prix. It is at this race that we see the finished product of Ivan Vanko. Using the same power source, he has turned himself into super-villain Whiplash. With his bullwhip style plasma lashes, he can cut race cars into pieces. His goal is to get the attention of Iron Man. In the biggest set piece of the movie, the two battle while race cars zoom and tumble around them. It is a true testament to both GCI and stunt filming. In the end, Iron Man prevails and Whiplash is caught.
Or so it seems. Hammer is also at the event, watching the display and realizes that Ivan needs to be on the Hammer team. Through nefarious means he makes this happen. Tony is going through a downward spiral and gives control of the company to Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). The woman who oversees the transition is Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson), a stunner in a tight skirt who catches the eye of Tony.
All of these elements are pulled together by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), a mysterious figure introduced at the end of episode one. It seems that he wants Iron Man to be a part of his Avengers group. He also knows the Tony is having trouble with his body and suggests that there may be a way to save the hero. All these elements lead up to a battle royal between Iron Man and the Whiplash army with the man himself leading the assault.
The element that makes this work is the cast. Robert Downey Jr. just owns the role of Tony Stark. Arrogant, egotistical and smug—all perfectly done. He has that Superman quality of ‘Yeah, I can fly’ but does it with the puffing of a peacock. His is a perfect foil for Scarlett Johansson’s Natalie Rushman, the woman who eventually becomes Black Widow. With her high kicks and kick butt moves, she takes hold of the screen. If they do make a spin-off flick with her character, it should be box office gold.
The biggest find by far is Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer. Chewing every scene he’s in, he almost becomes the true villain of the work. Driven by envy and greed, he is the most dangerous character—a semi-intelligent guy who thinks of himself as the brightest guy in the room. Director Jon Favreau gives himself a meaty little part as driver Happy Hogan, a tough guy who finds out how soft he truly is.
Gwyneth Paltrow was just there as Pepper Potts, not doing anything more than reacting. She is the dullest character in the ensemble, almost an afterthought to all the stunning action that surrounds her. I don’t understand why Don Cheadle was cast as Rhodes. Terrance Howard was perfect in the role from the original Iron Man, and Cheadle truly didn’t bring anything new or different to the part. I guess another Oscar-nominated actor adds just that much more heft to the cast. But leading the major disappointment department is Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. He’s given a wide berth to deliver but just channels his Pulp Fiction character.
Also, the film is not without its faults. At over two hours, it seems to lose the pace more than once. Instead of flowing, it chugs along with the giant set pieces strung together. And the final ending battle felt too short. With all that preceded it, one expects the ending to go on and on, delivering a knock out punch. It just ends a bit too premature.
For a summertime popcorn flick, one can’t do much better than Iron Man 2. It gives the audience exactly what it wants, loud explosions and nifty effects. With AC/DC leading the soundtrack charge, it is also the most rocking flick of the summer.
