A good sequel but it's not on the same level as the first film

Rating: Null/10 (17 September 2015)

This is a good sequel but it is not on the same level as either the first film or "The Incredible Hulk". The script by Justin Theroux is quite strong, if not without its flaws, and Jay Favreau's direction is assured but the film loses its momentum in its last half an hour or so, which is when superhero films should be at their most exciting.
The ever charismatic Robert Downey, Jr. is once again excellent as Tony Stark, delivering a quirky and engrossing performance as the unlikely superhero. Tony's characterisation is perhaps the strongest asset of the "Iron Man" films and I liked the fact that becoming Iron Man did not solve all of his problems or wipe away his personality defects. He is still a very conflicted character, something which is further explored on this occasion through his relationship with his long dead father Howard. The fact that he is slowly dying of palladium poisoning adds an interesting dimension to the film as his erratic and reckless behaviour causes both his closest friends and the US government in lose faith in him. It also serves to illustrate that he is far from perfect. Like the rest of us, he just does the best that he can. I loved the fact that he was able to keep his sense of humour throughout. The scene in which he testifies in front of the Senate Committee is one of my favourites.
I had never seen Mickey Rourke in a film before but I was extremely impressed with his performance as Ivan Vanko, a brilliant Russian scientist who was raised to despise the Stark family by his father Anton in a Soviet-era Siberian prison camp. Not exactly the best environment for children. Vanko is in many ways a dark reflection to Tony, which makes him a very interesting character. He is also quite a frightening one, not least because he is very physically imposing. Sam Rockwell is a laugh riot as Tony's affably evil corporate competitor Justin Hammer. He reminded me of the fictionalised version of Salieri from "Amadeus" who is extremely resentful of Mozart's genius and success. Hammer, who has a massive inferiority complex, believes that he would be the top dog if it wasn't for Tony and is not content to simply be a member of the pack. In some respects, he is likewise a dark reflection to Tony and, as such, he and Vanko complement each other very well.
As in the first film, I did not particularly like the depiction of the major female characters. Gwyneth Paltrow is fine as Pepper Potts but she has zero chemistry with Downey. The character is as dull as dishwater and contributes even less to the plot on this occasion. Scarlett Johansson is likewise perfectly fine as Natasha Romanoff but that's about it. Natasha is clearly a very skilled S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and she can kick ass and all that but it's hard to care about a character, male or female, who can do all that if they don't have a personality. Neither actress has a chance to excel as they are lumbered with not particularly interesting characters, which stands out as all of the male characters (except maybe Agent Coulson) have clearly defined personalities. For instance, Samuel L. Jackson has very little screen time but he makes a much stronger impression as Nick Fury is such a great character, though this is certainly helped by his considerable screen presence. Favreau has more to do in front of the camera in this film than in the first and has some great moments as Happy Hogan. Don Cheadle is okay as Colonel James Rhodes but I much preferred the more charismatic and likable Terrence Howard in the role and I wish that he had returned. The film features nice appearances in smaller roles from John Slattery as Howard Stark and Garry Shandling as the utterly obnoxious Senator Stern and I really liked the cameos from Stan Lee (again mistaken for someone else!), Elon Musk, Christiane Amanpour and Bill O'Reilly, who behaves in exactly the way that you expect him to do if Iron Man was a real person. However, Paul Bettany didn't have the same chance to shine as J.A.R.V.I.S. in this film.
The film looks fantastic and most of the action scenes are generally exciting, the best being the initial fight scene between Tony and Vanko on the Monaco racetrack. However, their supposedly climactic fight scene is decidedly anti-climactic as it was over so quickly. I assumed that they would do the standard, though almost always entertaining, thing where the hero thinks that the villain has been defeated but it turns out that he hasn't. Even after this did not happen, I expected the film to reveal that Vanko was still alive and would one day return to seek his revenge. The fact that his defeat was comparatively easy meant that it was a little underwhelming and the same holds true for Hammer. All I could think was, "Is that it?" I like the hero to get a good run for his money but I don't think that it was quite good enough in the film. Ah, well. Can't win 'em all.
Overall, this is a good, fun superhero film but it could have benefited from stronger female characters and sharper writing towards the end. Still, it is a worthy entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.