It's good to be back

Rating: 6/10 (9 May 2010)

Greetings again from the darkness. No secret that I really enjoyed the first Iron Man movie a couple of years ago. For 2, we get the return of key players: Robert Downey, jr as Tony Stark, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, and Jon Favreau as the director. We also get an onslaught of new players: Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash, Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, Scarlett Johansson as Natalie/Natasha/Black Widow, Garry Shandling as Senator Stern and Don Cheadle (replacing Terence Howard) as War Machine.
Onslaught may be the best word I can use to describe the film. It is an onslaught to the senses. There are so many characters - both good and bad. There are so many explosions, fights and booms that we resist the urge to blink. There is so much overlapping and oddly paced dialogue that we strain to fill in the blanks. And what of the inside jokes and "advertising" for future Avengers fun? OK, maybe "Fun" is the key word, not onslaught. These characters are a blast (pun, slightly intended). Watching a creepy Mickey Rourke plot revenge in the Russian darkness is terrific. Sam Rockwell chewing scenery is not to be missed. Garry Shandling's snarky senator is a hoot, especially at the end. And I have been surfing the net all night searching for a suitcase sized Iron Man suit. OK, not really ... but that was super cool.
The best I can offer here is that this is an onslaught of fun. The great and talented Justin Theroux was brought in to script the multitude of players and story lines ... he must be a master juggler as none get cheated in their screen time. Even Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury is given a much heavier workload than in part one - setting the stage for his NINE scheduled film appearances as Mr. Fury.
The film is huge and spectacular, but falls just short of the first one for a single reason. The wow of discovery can only be had once. That's not a knock on this one, but timing is crucial. Must also mention the brilliance of Robert Downey, Jr who seems born to play Tony Stark. Of course, the brilliance of Mr. Downey is that he always seems born to play his roles. He is a great actor ... check his ability to spout wise cracking one-liners and then mix in a couple of actually tender moments with Paltrow's Pepper Potts. Not many actors could do that effectively. He pulls it off seamlessly.
What really matters is that it's a fun trip to theatre. Don't expect this year's Best Picture winner. Expect to laugh and be visually wowed. I certainly was.