Iron Sequel

Rating: Null/10 (2 June 2017)

Threatened by a Russian weapons designer with a personal grudge, Tony Stark has to conquer alcohol abuse to defend his technology in this big budget sequel to the 2008 hit. The film boasts some great special effects and the first fight sequence between Stark and Mickey Rourke (as the Russian) on a crowded racetrack is simply divine. Add in a fun turn from Sam Rockwell and 'Iron Man 2' shows a lot of promise at first; unfortunately, it fails to capitalise on this. For a superhero movie, the action is oddly sparse and limited. There are few thrilling scenes near the end, but otherwise after the initial encounter with Rourke, all we get is a pointless drunken fight between close friends Downey and Don Cheadle in the way of action -- something hardly that exciting since neither friend feels in mortal danger. The furthering of Stark's character arc is half-baked too. While the Part One offered an intelligent glimpse at naive weapons designer turned selfless philanthropist, here Stark is battling his ego, and it is only mildly interesting to watch him grow humble as opposed to completely change his outlook on life as in Part One. The film is not worthless though. The banter between Downey and Cheadle is excellent, especially towards the end, and Rourke's character is awesome. The film also has a few thoughtful things to offer in terms of how exposed vulnerabilities can be more damaging than death.