Unbalanced: too much talking, and not enough tension, action, or excitement

Rating: 6/10 (9 May 2010)

Instead of being called "Iron Man 2," the title of this film should read, "Iron Man's Day Off" because we spend so little time with Iron Man and more time with endless scenes of boring conversation and arguing. When you actually find yourself genuinely annoyed at fictional characters for, frankly, just talking too much, it's a clear sign of a film with flaws. Remember that feeling when you've just begun your 40 minute commute to work, and the radio-show you're listening to is about to do an interesting bit? Instead, 40 minutes later, the over-talkative DJ is still stuck on the same silly rant from the beginning of your commute and because of a 9 o'clock meeting you never get to hear the bit. This is Iron Man 2 the longer it played out. Example - Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Warhammer (Don Cheadle) are planning for the final showdown we've been waiting for at the film's climax. In my head, this scene still has not ended: "You stand there, because if I stand there I (insert sarcastic comment). Okay, deal!" Great, now we're finally getting down to business, as both characters then go off for battle. But one of them stops. "Wait, I don't like this, what if you..." as they suddenly walk back to argue some more. Well by this point in the film, only a lobotomy-patient would not want to yell "Just go fight the bleeding robots! Stop proving to the audience how funny and sarcastic you are and go do something cool! We've been waiting 90 boring minutes since the racetrack battle for something else remotely exciting to happen!"
The first 20-30 minutes of IM2 are easily the best as the introduction of Ivan Vanko character, played effortlessly by Mickey Rourke, sets up what you think will be an interesting story. The opening action at the racetrack was well-executed, exciting, and is the highlight of the film. This is also the point where the film lost its steam. The next 90 minutes is constant chatter – most of it uninteresting - and moments of interaction that almost over-emphasize the quirkiness of the characters as opposed to providing any real tension. These quirks and imperfections to the characters were positive qualities of the first film but are overdone here. Apart from the story, the character interactions by themselves are well written and very funny at times. But at @ 1:15 into the film I remember thinking, enough of the humor, enough of the tedium, when is something of tension, interest, or action going to happen? More of these boring scenes serve no other purpose than linking themselves to a 10-second gag in the film's final moments. By the time the grand finale arrives, you feel like you've just walked out of a tax seminar and really don't care to see any action because you just want to sleep. If you are still awake by the time the action arrives you'll get something that falls far short of any reward for surviving 90 minutes of sheer boredom. The finale is a 5 minute fight with the drones as the Iron Men return fire while flying through the air, which was nothing too innovative or blow-you-away exciting. The only great moment following the flying-around involved Rourke's character making a final appearance, but it is over in almost 30 seconds. And when I say "30 seconds" I don't mean it as hyperbole, it really is this short.
Ivan Vanko repeats the words "drone better!" during the middle of the film. The filmmakers must have said the same, in favoring a story which drones on and on like a robot with little humanity inside – despite a semi-moving back-story involving Stark's father (played straightforwardly by Mad Men's John Slattery). Still, pacing is what killed this film. This is an Iron Man film but we get so few moments of him in action, or anything in the way of excitement. The action in the first film felt far more personal and well-conceived. I do though place strong exception on the racetrack scene – the golden egg of the sequel. Still, the rest of the constant conversation in IM2 wasn't interesting enough to be enjoyable, and because of this you'll just want to see action if you aren't asleep yet. This is the clearest symptom of story and pacing issues.
I'll also mention that Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) was a hard character to read - was he a villain, or was he just a feeble and tragic figure? I never quite knew what to feel for him. I kept waiting for him to shed the sideshow act and show a genuine and serious tone with serious resolve, but this never happens and ultimately he goes out with a whimper instead of a bang. The other addition, Scarlett Johansen's Black Widow, provided great eye-candy but her character really wasn't given much to do in the film's 2 hours.
Overall this is a comedy/drama film with a couple stops for action - which to me translates for an incredibly uneven film for this genre, especially for something as potentially through-the-roof entertaining as Iron Man can be! Talking doesn't necessarily mean boring, but the story wasn't nearly gripping enough for the constant yapping to be an interesting listen. Of all the stories which could have been told, this was the best they had for us? By itself this film is not a bad one, but compared to the first it was a disappointment. The name of the game was "unbalanced." The lack of tension and panache to the story (after the 30 minute mark) made the action feel like an afterthought when it finally arrived, and made even the humor feel as tedious as a trip to the DMV.