Movie Review — Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 wasn’t quite as good as Iron Man (to me; read what I wrote on that one), but neither will I say it was worse.  It’s like getting a 97 on a test rather than a 98: it’s still an “A”, and that’s all that really matters.  (And the first film gets a special bump because it so outperformed expectations.  This one gave us pretty much what we wanted and expected, so it doesn’t come away with as much of a glow, as a result.)

There are two things to say with certainty:

• Robert Downey Jr. does a great job of playing Tony Stark, imbuing the character with more life than he had in the ’80s comics where I’m most familiar with him.
• At no time during the movie did I feel that the movie was thumbing its nose at the comic book connection, trying to void or avoid that connection.  That’s a very good thing.  There’s a certain trust that comic book-based movies have to live up to for the comic book fans, to find their own path but not seem to be kicking the comic book puppy in the process.  X-Men: The Last Stand\, Spider-Man 3, and Superman Returns all failed in this, being more intent on being a movie than something part-and-parcel of the comics; they “kicked the puppy”, but Iron Man 2 did not.  (Never forget that the reverse exists, too: call it “letting the puppy eat your steak” where a movie doesn't try to transcend the comic book — perhaps even embrcaes the worst stereotypes of the comics book — and becomes less as a result.  See Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.  No, on second thought, don't see it.)

Some other thoughts:

• The Nick Fury/SHIELD stuff was too strongly geared toward setting up for future Marvel movies (or I’m just too aware that it’s doing that), too self-aware of their purpose in the film.  Nick and Natasha’s characters would have been better in the film if they we presented more strongly as keeping an eye on/reining in Tony Stark, with the future connections being much more under the surface.
• Don Cheadle never looked really comfortable in the role of Rhodey, doubly so when in the armor.  Maybe it chafed?
• It took me a long time to accept the Justin Hammer character.  Once I was able to interpret him as being a Tony Stark wanna-be — everything he does is in imitation of Tony Stark, aping what Stark does without an understanding of why and how — then I was able to grasp the character better.
• Referencing the 1970s Stark Expo as “Expo ’74” threw me a bit, since “Expo ’74” was the name for the Spokane World’s Fair, which I fondly recall attending as a kid.