Iron Man 2. Must be the start of summer

Rating: 7/10 (7 May 2010)

Jon Favreau is out to make a good comic-book summer popcorn movie with Iron Man 2, no more no less. Anyone expecting the super dark out of this film lime the Dark Knight need venture along to something else (for one, Nolan's own Inception, but that's not here nor there). We once again have Tony Stark, the man and self-made legend, who is unique among superheroes as he 'came-out' as it were at the end of the first film as being in fact Iron Man. He now has to deal with other things, such as the government wanting, telling, him to hand over his technology for defense ("I have just privatized world peace" is a keeper of a line), and his heart and soul Pepper Potts, and other new things, such as prickly competition in Justin Hammer, a hot red-headed secretary who can kick ass (and other things)... oh, and his father's legacy and the possibility that his technology for his heart may kill him.
So as you can imagine, Stark is not quite at the top of his game. He can still kick ass as Iron Man - when the suit is in close proximity - but his nearly-close-to-deathness and still cleaning up after Stark company mistakes (such as the gnarly Russian cold-war leftover Ivan, aka 'Whiplash', played with gnarly gumption by Mickey Rourke), make him even more of an egotistical jerk than usual. This is what Favreau makes interesting: Stark has grown over time, but the obstacles in his path really knock him for a loop despite always putting a slightly self-deprecating and sarcastic face on things (or, other times, drunk-off-his-ass face on things, which brings Rhodey to become a "War Machine"). What does a hero have to do to still be an extravagant billionaire out in public and not have to suffer fools trying to crib his technology?
Stark's complexity carries the dramatic weight (if sometimes not quite as much as before; the midpoint becomes a little sluggish, though certainly not unwatchable when Sam Jackson comes on screen as Nick Fury), and Downey Jr still makes him one of the most fascinating and just plain f***ing fun superheroes around. Tony Stark is someone you'd love to hate if he weren't such a lovable louse. He's a womanizer and doesn't put on airs, but he deeply cares more about things that do matter than most, and Downey is able to balance out that snark and sense of humor of things with more heartfelt moments like with Paltrow's Pepper Potts (watch those scenes where he offers her the CEO position and then near the end when... well, don't want to spoil that, but they are touching). The new additions to the cast help a bit as well: Rockwell has some fun playing a one 1/2 dimensional slimeball of a politico, and Rourke gets to grit and act gnarly with the best of them as Whiplash. And Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Romanoff... woof.
Oh, and the action is still high-flying and exciting and has some surprises in store for the audience (others like the 'ex-wife' actually, pleasantly, underwhelm as irony), and Favreau is able to still manage getting in the humorous beats in those intense moments of action and daring-do. While not every joke hits or line connects, enough do to keep things going on; Favreau even has fun with himself in the Happy Hogan role in a fight scene that is just about perfect for him. The biggest problem though is the allusions - no, wait, flat out references - to the upcoming Avengers movie and other tie-ins to the Marvel universe. In the past it was a little more subtle (a SHIELD joke near the end of the first one, and a cameo of Stark in Incredible Hulk notwithstanding), and in this they are crowbared in a few scenes, albeit one involving Captain America is very funny.
But look, this isn't Shakespeare, and it isn't necessarily trying to up the ante on the first one (though, frankly as one of the truly great comic-book adaptations, what could), but it kicks some ass and gets some laughs and assembles a top-shelf cast for a script that's worth the time and money and energy. It's a nice kick-start: the summer of 10 is here.