Iron Man 2 picks up pretty closely where Iron Man left off. Tony Stark has admitted that he is Iron Man and has spent the last few months helping to rid the world of bad guys and generally being ridiculously good looking. His world seems to be great but we soon learn that Tony Stark is slowly being killed by the thing that defines him. His increased use of the iron man suit is acelerating the deadly shrapnels poison inside him that he picked up in the first film. Couple that, essentially a death sentence, with the US government trying to get him to hand over the iron man "weapon," rival weapons contractor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) trying to show him up, and a crazed Russian physicist (Mickey Rourke) who blames the Stark family for the death of his father.
With a cast as talented as everyone in Iron Man 2 it is very hard to go wrong. You've got Robert Downey Jr. one of the greatest actors in the history of ever, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle taking over Terrence Howards old part (just as well, if not better), Samuel L. Jackson, Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell.
First off, Robert Downey Jr. is an amazing man. His performance alone brings this movie up a notch that it just wouldn't have without him. He knows who hes playing and he loves it. His lines had everyone in the theatre laughing. Everyone else plays their roles as well as you'd expect actors of their caliber to do, but Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are worthy of note. Mickey Rourke just gets sucked into his part. A mad Russian scientist with electric death whips that cut clean through vehicles and almost iron man's suit. Half the time I found myself rooting for him because of his acting and general awesomeness. Many people might play off Sam Rockwell's role, but his range is brilliant. He plays a quirky weapons genius, like Stark, who has very little people skills. Like Joaquin Pheonix in Gladiator he makes you hate him and that's what is so great about it.
Now that I've run my marathon love obsession with the actors, I think I should discuss the film. Iron Man 2 can feel a little long and then a little short at times. The special effects in the film are absolutely amazing (Especially when Mickey Rourke starts chopping cars in half) and then sometimes they feel a little dull. It suprises me at every corner and then takes a detour in the wrong direction and I couldn't tell it to turn around. Also, the very last fight with the final bad guy, was way too easy. Tony and Rhodes (Cheadle, the silver suit) take out the final boss in like 5 minutes. Don't build him up so much if he's that easy to kill.
Don't get me wrong Iron Man 2 is a good movie, but it just falls a little short. If you took The Dark Knight, a GREAT movie, and took out the Joker it would no longer be great, it would just be a good movie. That's what Iron Man 2 is. It lacks something that Iron Man had and tries to make up for it with bigger fight scenes and more graphics.
Iron Man 2 is still incredibly entertaining and definitely worth the admission price. Then again, I would see any movie just to watch Robert Downey Jr.
3 out of 4 stars
-Christopher O'Connell
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