Iron Man 2 A Bit Disappointing But Decent

Rating: 6/10 (29 September 2010)

Iron Man 2 is a bit disappointing yet decent comic book sequel. Don't get me wrong it's okay but there's was too much talking and not enough action. I enjoyed Inception this summer a lot more than this one. Robert Downey is solid as Tony Stark but even he can't save this from being a bit of a disappointment compared to the first one. He's everything Tony Stark should be and is still a perfect choice for the character none the less. Gwyneth Paltrow does what she can as Pepper Popps despite not having a whole lot to do.
Don Cheadle is all right as Jim Rhodes and War Machine who's involved in the action more than the previous one. Scarlet Johannson is decent as Natalie Rushman/The Black Widow who like Paltrow doesn't have much to do except for a third act action sequence which is okay while it lasts. Sam Rockwell is a good actor (Moon, and Machstick Men) but I actually found him to be rather annoying as Justin Hammer one of the villains if you want to call the role that. I think it was more the character than him who I thought is annoying. He wasn't menacing or threatening to Tony at all. Rockwell did however a bring some comic relief to the movie.
Mickey Rourke's underused as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash who is intimidating even with very little dialog and screen time. They could've done a lot more with his character who after an impressive display of destruction at the race track he takes a back seat for a large part of the movie particularly the second half. He shows up briefly near the end only to be dispatched as quickly as he appears. Whiplash didn't turn to be as much of a threat to Tony as he could've been.
Samuel L Jackson does his usual thing as Nick Fury in a small role considering he has only two scenes with Downey Jr. He's in it for five minutes tops to set up the upcoming Avengers movie and Kate Mara is wasted in an early cameo appearance. The story itself was kind of predictable, and the few action sequences were so-so but they missing that wow factor. Most of the action happens in the third act which turns out to be a bit of a letdown because it's over too fast. The only one that had any real intensity to it was at the race track when Rourke's Whiplash confronts Tony for the first time.
There's a lot of talking in the second half and almost no action except for a fight between a drunk Tony and Rhodes in Iron Man suits which weighed it down a bit. Not that there has to be constant explosions, fist fights, and violence every 10 minutes but some more spectacle would've made it better. And for a movie called Iron Man I was surprised about how little we actually see Stark in the suit. This movie suffered the same problem that Spider-man 3 had of trying to put too much into one film with mixed results. Actor/Director Jon Favreau is admirable in making this sequel despite it's flaws that further develops Downey's Tony Stark which isn't necessarily a bad thing but certain key characters (Potts, Rhodes, Black Widow, and Whisplash) unfortunately aren't given much development and lack screen time.
The fight at the end with Downey's Iron Man and Cheadler's War Machine facing off against Rourke's Wiplash is over in like 30 seconds was a big disappointment because it felt rushed. What was the point of him showing up after the drones were killed if he's just going to get killed off thirty seconds later. There wasn't any danger or suspense to speak of and dispatching the main villain in such a short battle at the end seemed like a wasted opportunity to show how dangerous he could be. Overall this movie really isn't that bad. Iron Man 2 has some action, drama, a little humor, and solid performances by the cast (Robert Downey Jr) for the most part it just could've been better.
The part with a drunk Tony in an Iron Man suit wasn't all that funny either. I prefer The Dark Knight over this sequel as far as comic book movies go because it delivered everything you could want or expect from one of those films. Iron Man 2 on the other hand wasn't as good as the original which is shame because I really wanted to like this movie but I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed after watching it.