Distracting blockbuster fare but lacks the spark and flow of the first film

Rating: Null/10 (18 September 2010)

Although it was of course a summer blockbuster with all the flaws that came with it, I did really enjoy the first Iron Man film for what it did well. It was breezy, light and fun and it made it an easy film to like. I was hoping for more of the same from Iron Man 2 then and it is a little disappointing to find that it cannot quite replicate the same effect. Normally I would not be overly bothered by plotting in a summer action movie but for me this is sort of the problem with IM2. It is not that the plot is bad or complicated, it is just that it seems to lack a flow to it, meaning that it stutters along quite badly, robbing it of the light touch and sense of fun that the first film relied on.
We have a Russian scientist out for revenge on the Stark corporation, Stark struggling with blood poisoning from his power source, Pepper Potts taking control of the company, Justin Hammer competing for military contracts, Stark refusing to share his technology with the US military (much to the chagrin of Rhodes) and Nick Fury continuing to try and recruit Stark to his Avengers initiative. In fairness the film is not as "busy" as it could have been with all these characters and aspects bumping around, but it does give it a rather messy feel and the film never feels comfortable until the final action sequence around the Expo. At this point there are goodies and baddies and everyone is pulling together in the same direction and it means nothing distracts and nothing breaks up the motion in the way that happens through most of the film.
This is not the same as saying the film is bad, just that it doesn't quite have that fresh feel of the first film. Stark's excesses are overplayed to the point where he is a bit hard to like. The first film balanced this well (thanks to a great turn from Downey Jr) with his wit and character taking the load, but here the first part of the film gets a bit tiresome as Stark is in one glamorous location after another without much for the viewer to "like" about him. This turns around gradually but again never to the point of being as good as the first film. Downey Jr is still good though and he uses his laid-back charm to good effect when he gets the chance – it is not his fault that this film is "busier" than the first in terms of characters, so he has less time to spread out as he once did. Cheadle is OK but I would have preferred Howard in this role; the former just seems too hard and one-note here. Paltrow is amusing in her minor role while Johansson plays to her strengths by being firey in her hair and eyes while wearing a cat suit – nothing to say on her performance as an actress but she seems happy being a sexualised action figureen so who am I to question? Rockwell is great fun though. He plays well against Downey and he brings good humour to his parts. Rourke is a nonsense but an enjoyable one, he has a good presence and his character is at least interesting, which goes some way to making up for his rather silly costume. Favreau's appearance in front of costume doesn't do much as his comedy moments aren't that funny, while Jackson is determined to keep showing up in things being "Samuel MF'ing Jackson" over and over again. Shandling and Slattery are nice bits of casting.
It isn't an actors' film though and it is mostly about the effects. The main CGI moments are great – free flowing, well delivered, quite exciting and technically impressive. Ironically some of the "backdrop" effects (like where the cast are clearly getting out of a car somewhere in the world other than where they appear to be) are pretty poor – not quite 1950's back projection but still they don't look real, although it is just a minor quibble.
Overall Iron Man 2 is a reasonably enjoyable summer blockbuster. It has stars, it has noise, it has cheeky humour and all your money is up there on the screen to be enjoyed. Unfortunately for the franchise it has too much clutter in it that breaks up the flow of the film and makes it too heavy to feel as fresh and fun as the first Iron Man film. It will still please the target audience and it will work as a Friday night DVD but the studio's efforts to pull the Avengers together has actually hurt this specific film, making it less enjoyable than the first film by virtue of losing sight of what worked there by piling too much on top of it.