Funny and action-packed, but lacks depth

Rating: 7/10 (7 May 2010)

IRON MAN 2 2010
Written by Justin Theroux. Directed by Jon Favreau. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, John Slattery, Jon Favreau, Paul Bettany, Leslie Bibb and Garry Shandling.
Ol' Shellhead and company return in another blockbuster to kick off the summer movie season and they more than prove the first Iron Man was no fluke. Palladium-powered by excellent performances, great action sequences and a funny, fast-paced script, Iron Man 2 rockets into the pantheon of best super-hero movies ever.
The story begins with billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) seemingly at the top of the world. He's fulfilling his father's dreams of a better tomorrow by hosting a year long technology expo and batting aside the demands of a smarmy U.S. Senator (Garry Shandling) that Stark surrender his amazing armor to the government. Claiming the rest of the world is years away from creating anything like Iron Man, Stark arrogantly and entertainingly presents himself as the man who has privatized world peace and says he's capable of handling any problem that arises on his own.
That's more boast than fact. Stark is actually being slowly poisoned by the Palladium in the energy generator in his chest and hasn't found a way to prevent his own death. He's attacked and nearly killed by mysterious Russian Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), who's proved Stark wrong by building an energy whip harness obviously similar to the Iron Man armor. Weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) also buzzes about Stark like a bothersome gnat and while completely overmatched by Tony, Hammer proves to be the fulcrum upon which Vanko's ultimate vengeance will turn.
Stark isn't alone to face these threats. He's joined by his loyal and frequently bemused assistant Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow), his faithful bodyguard/chauffeur Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johannson), a young woman from Stark Industries legal department who proves to be a whole lot more than meets the eyewhich is saying a lot when you look like Scarlett Johannson. Air Force Lt. Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) gets a chance to don his own armored battlesuit and the magnetic director of SHIELD Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) turns up to offer Stark his one and only chance to save his life and stop the technological arms race he started from spinning out of control.
There is one legitimate criticism you can make of Iron Man 2. While it's more action-packed and a bit funnier than it's predecessor, it lacks the same dramatic depth. At the heart of the first film was a well developed story of an immature and self-centered man learning to grow up and accept his responsibility to the rest of the world. Iron Man 2 doesn't really have that sort of simple humanity at its core, though it does dabble a bit in Tony Stark's complicated relationship with his father. This movie is more bloodless, focusing on standard blockbuster plot mechanics and witty banter.
While not as narratively vital, Iron Man 2 is still an excellent film. Downey Jr. and Paltrow are just as engaging. Rockwell, Rourke and Shandling are perfectly comedic and menacing as the movie requires. Cheadle joins the fray as a man torn between his friend and his country. Johannson doesn't get to do much more than look good and kick ass, but she does each exceptionally well. The special effects are first rate. The script has more laughs than most straight forward comedies. And director Favreau deserves a lot of credit for keeping an awful lot of balls in the air and never letting the movie sputter or sag.
Iron Man 2 is exciting, clever and a whole lot of fun. If you liked the first, you should definitely see the second and that's about all you can ask for from a sequel.