As anyone who read my review of the first Iron Man will know, I absolutely love that film. It is still one of my favourite comic-book/superhero films to date, and Downey Jr. was simply phenomenal in the titular role. So back in 2010, I was immensely excited at the prospect of a sequel. This is because when you look at the first sequel in a superhero/comic-book series, many of them are considered by most as being as good as and even superior to their predecessors. The Dark Knight, X-Men 2, Superman 2, Spider-Man 2, Hellboy 2... All of these sequels received as much love, if not more, than their predecessors from most viewers. I personally think that all of these sequels surpass their predecessors. So given the strong track record of superhero/comic-book sequels, I had high hopes for Iron Man 2. So did it deliver? Let's find out.
From the outside, it looks like life couldn't be better for Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) He is adored by many thanks to his Iron Man alter ego, he has helped to instill peace in dangerous regions around the world and he has successfully re-opened the Stark Expo, a place where great minds from around the world can come to display new and dazzling inventions. Unfortunately, Tony's life is far from simple. He is facing threats on political, business and personal levels; Senator Stern (Garry Shandling) is trying to take the Iron Man armour away from Tony, business rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) wants to assume Stark's position and Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) seeks vengeance for past injustices committed against his family by the Stark family. To do this, he intends to show that Iron Man's not quite as invincible as he might appear. With all of this, you'd think that Tony would have enough to deal with, but he's also being poisoned by the arc reactor in his chest and is running out of time and replacement options.
For its first hour, Iron Man 2 is a lot of fun. Jon Favreau, returning to direct after the original film as well as having an expanded role as Tony's bodyguard Happy Hogan, shows that he really understands the appeal of Tony Stark. From Tony's first scene, where he sky-dives into the Stark Expo with several cheerleaders in the background to the tune of AC/DC's Shoot to Thrill, it's easy to remember why Stark is such an awesome superhero. That becomes even clearer when Downey Jr. goes to work outside the suit. I've said this plenty of times before, but I'll never get tired saying just how perfect Downey Jr. is in this role. Whether he's running circles around his opponents in the middle of a senate hearing, sharing an intimate moment with Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts or trying to get a lock on Ivan and his motives, Downey Jr. nails every note. Tony Stark is one of the most intriguing superheroes around, and the performance by Downey Jr. fully realises the complexities of the character with incredible ease, charisma and skill. The script by Justin Theroux also shows an understanding of the character and his charm; there are plenty of great one-liners on display, both for Downey Jr. and the supporting cast. The action is fantastic, with Ivan's initial attack on Tony at a Monaco race track being a definite high point. This scene is phenomenally well-staged and intense, and frankly, none of the other action sequences in the film match it (although one does come close). Is this section perfect? That would be a no; John Debney's score isn't as powerful or memorable as Ramin Djawadi's for the first film and, while the visual effects are still more than effective, they fit less seamlessly this time around. But neither of these issues stop me from loving this section of the film.
Unfortunately, after a run-in between Tony and his friend James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), Iron Man 2 grinds to a halt for almost 30 minutes. This is simply because the film gives way to setting up The Avengers instead of telling its own story in a focused manner. Iron Man 2 marks the first 'prominent' role for S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in the MCU, and while Jackson is as cool as ever and it's fun watching him spar with Downey Jr., he's here more as set-up than as an important character in this particular story. This pushes Rourke's Vanko into the background for way too long, diluting the fantastic impact he makes in the first hour. Rourke is brilliant throughout, but the poor misuse of his character here takes his strong work for granted with decidedly sour results. There are good things about this part of the film; there is still some effective dialogue, there is a truly moving moment in the Iron Man legacy and (as I'll go on to discuss in more detail) the acting is wonderful. But none of this can really shake the sense that Iron Man 2 goes on stand-by during this period to establish future instalments at the expense of its own story, which doesn't sit well with me. Plus, for the amount of time spent on setting up a certain conflict, Tony's resolution is both strangely convoluted and simple at the same time.
Despite the sense of aimlessness which mires that half an hour, one of the things which helps to save that part of the film is the strong array of performances. While I've already praised Downey Jr., the supporting cast still lend great value. Gwyneth Paltrow is once again lovely as Pepper Potts, Tony's romantic interest. The bickering and romantic tension between the two characters is wonderfully written and perfomed, and while Pepper might verge on being annoying for some, it's only because she's trying to express her deep care for and frustration with Tony. I think a few people might come across as annoying at points if they were juggling the emotions and responsibilities which Pepper has in this film, and Paltrow's performance effectively conveys that. While his impression is somewhat diminished by that penultimate 30 minutes, Mickey Rourke is still a great antagonist as Ivan Vanko. Rourke is a truly underrated actor (his work in 2008's The Wrestler was incendiary), and he sinks his teeth into his role here. He fully embraces that this is a comic-book villain with his gloriously OTT Russian accent, but he also brings real humanity and menace to the part. The combination of these qualities makes Vanko an immensely entertaining villain who poses a genuine threat. While Vanko's attack on Tony at the race track is arguably the film's best action scene, one of the best dramatic scenes is when Tony and Vanko confront each other without the armour. This is an electrifying moment, and the portrayals by Donwey Jr. and Rourke are especially terrific here. Sam Rockwell also makes for a fun nemesis as Justin Hammer, albeit in a different way to Vanko. Whereas Vanko wants to tear Stark down, Hammer wants to be Tony. He wants to be the genius inventor, the irresistible charmer and the guy whom everyone admires, but he just can't cut it. That's an identifiable motivation for a villain; there are probably a lot of people who would love to take the place of a greatly-admired public figure and might try if they had the resources which Hammer has at his disposal. This also provides plenty of scenarios for comedy and Hammer's attempts to take Tony's place result in a lot of great humour, with Sam Rockwell having an utter blast in the role. However, Rockwell still emphasises that Hammer's growing frustration at consistently ending up in Tony's shadow could make him a dangerous foe, while also finding time to fit in his uniquely awesome dancing. When Iron Man 2 first came out, Scarlett Johansson seemed like a superfluous cast addition as Natalie Rushman, Tony's secretive new secretary. However, after seeing the character progress in The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I'd argue that this is actually a strong introduction of the Black Widow character. Her previous fault of seeming too much like window dressing is less egregious when one sees in more detail how she uses that to her advantage (the scenes between Johansson and Downey Jr. are very funny in illustrating how she's cunningly luring him into her 'web'), and she is much more smart and lethal than she initially lets on. Plus, her fight scene against a hallway of henchmen in the film's final act is pretty damn impressive. Taking over the role of Jim 'Rhodey' Rhodes after Terrence Howard didn't return, Don Cheadle is arguably a better fit in the role. While Howard was good in the part, Cheadle is able to exude the toughness which Howard lacked in the role. This is imperiative for Rhodey's role in this film; it's important that characters in films feel like they deserve the monikers given to them (see my thoughts on William Hurt's portrayal of General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' in my Incredible Hulk review for more detail), and Cheadle's portrayal of Rhodey is essential in us believing his new moniker of 'War Machine' by the film's conclusion. Plus, the relationship between Rhodey and Tony is brilliantly performed by Downey Jr. and Cheadle, particularly when the duo team up for action in the final act. As I said before, Samuel L. Jackson feels superfluous to the film, but at least he brings his usual cool charisma and is effortlessly watchable as a result. Clark Gregg also re-appears as SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson, and is brilliant as always; the banter between Coulson and Tony is fun to watch, particularly their very first interaction. Speaking of fun interactions, Paul Bettany is yet again a dry delight as Tony's electronic butler JARVIS. In a small villainous role, Garry Shandling excels in making Senator Stern a sleazy a-hole of the highest order. The early court-room showdown between Stern and Tony is one of the film's best scenes, as Tony verbally parries and punches both Stern and Hammer at every turn. Also, Shandling gets one of my favourite lines from the film. There are the usual selection of cameo appearances; I particularly loved the dual putdown from Tony and Pepper of a re-appearing character from the first Iron Man. Finally, in a small but important appearance, Mad Men's John Slattery delivers strong work as Howard Stark, Tony's father. This is yet another piece of set-up (the younger Howard, as portrayed by Dominic Cooper, plays a pivotal role in Captain America: The First Avenger), but the theme of family legacy throughout makes this fit in much more smoothly with the film's story than most of the other set-up in the film.
After that penultimate half an hour, Iron Man 2 kicks back into high gear with a rousing and bad-ass final act. Once Vanko's ultimate revenge plan is revealed, Favreau opens up the explosive goods. As Tony and Rhodey (in his War Machine suit) team up to take down the bad guys, the visual effects carnage floods the screen, but Favreau stages it expertly in a comprehensible way. The only issue I have with this section of the film is that the final showdown with Vanko himself is WAY too short. Otherwise, I have no big problems with the film's final act. The action is phenomenal, the character interplay is great (there is a hilarious visual punchline to the Black Widow/Happy Hogan dynamic) and the film's final one-liner is simply perfect.
Re-watching Iron Man 2 for the first time since 2012 (in the build-up to the first Avengers film), I actually enjoyed it more. Whereas I previously thought that the film started losing steam at the 40-minute mark, I'd actually say that the major issues now start appearing for me after the first hour. As I said before, this now comes across as a fitting introduction to the character of Black Widow given what we find out about her in following films. Finally, while it might be difficult to catch every line of dialogue between Tony and Pepper due to their lines overlapping, their bickering becomes clearer and more entertaining after every viewing. Now does this make me forget my issues with the penultimate 30 minutes and that final boss battle? No. Does it exceed the original film? No. Is it one of my favourite films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe? No. But the latter's simply due to high expectations and what other MCU films I have to measure this film against. At the end of the day, Iron Man 2 is still an entertaining ride. I have to wonder, though... With AC/DC providing songs for the soundtrack, why don't Evil Walks or War Machine play anywhere? The former has the lyric 'Black Widow' and the latter's title is the name of a prominent character's alter-ego in the film, so they only seemed fitting. But that's just me being curious.
Final Verdict
While Iron Man 2 isn't one of my favourite films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's an enjoyable blockbuster nonetheless. The performances are uniformly excellent (with Robert Downey Jr. once again doing spectacular work as Tony Stark), the visual effects are strong (if not as seamlessly integrated as in the original), Theroux' script gives the actors plenty of entertaining dialogue and Favreau's direction is mostly true to the spirit of the characters. Sure, the penultimate half an hour services the set-up for The Avengers at the expense of the film's own story, Tony's solution of one particular problem is both too simple and too convoluted and John Debney's score is rarely anything more than adequate. But the first hour and final act are still a great deal of fun. Come the obligatory post-credits scene, credit is due to the enjoyable experience provided by Iron Man 2 that it's easy to be excited for what will come next. Bring on the Thunder!
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
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