"Contrary to popular belief, I know exactly what I'm doing"

Rating: 6/10 (8 May 2010)

Particularly effective introductions can manage to encapsulate the essence of a character within a single brief scene. Iron Man 2 manages to do one better by introducing its protagonist in a fashion capturing him to a tee, but also representative of the majority of his film's faults and successes. Seen from behind, Iron Man leaps out of an airplane, soaring through the air (pausing only to be inelegantly hit by a firework) to land before a cascade of screaming fans, backed by bikini clad dancing women, his armour removed to reveal grinning, gregarious millionaire industrialist Tony Stark. It should be exhilarating and sure to raise an immediate vast grin, and yet something feels... off. Perhaps the aerial descent or Stark's smirking on a revolving platform feel slightly too long, the pace seemingly compromised for the sake of matching AC/DC's "Shoot to Thrill" (an inclusion which, given their 'Greatest Hits' release titled after the film, feels gratuitous). Perhaps the sequence feels too forced to fully enjoy its excitement and offbeat humour. Upon the film's culmination, such exact sentiments of enjoyment yet vague distance remain intact, making Iron Man 2 an indisputably fun watch, but one which feels unmistakably (for lack of a better word) assembled.
The first Iron Man was that true rarity: as close as Hollywood will come to a big budget grass roots blockbuster. Financed by the up and coming Marvel studios (for the first time in charge of their own superhero characters) and helmed by a director with only bland kid films as credentials who championed improvisation over a cemented script, with a formerly 'uninsurable' actor as the relatively obscure hero, the lack of expectations led to the remarkable combination of those involved both striving to prove themselves and taking the liberty to play around. Such ambition, innovation and earnest soul are what Iron Man 2 seems to lack, replaced by a fusion of by-the-numbers rekindling of successful components of the first. One can almost smell the checklist: "inner demons leading to progressive change, unrequited sexual tension, scene of Stark building an invention, a final showdown with big armoured foe" (a woefully brief and brainless anticlimax for a film continually gearing up to a final showdown), while new, interesting thematic links (Stark's boast of 'privatizing world peace') remain tragically underexplored.
Furthermore, while returning director Jon Favreau mercifully manages to balance his plethora of new characters enough to avoid the 'villain overload' syndrome plaguing many such comic book blockbusters (Spider-Man 3 and Batman and Robin most grotesquely), all feel like quick sketches rather than truly realized characters, despite the formidable array of star talent. Similarly, all characters being stuck in different subplots, none of them particularly enthralling, makes for jumbled focus and awkward pacing (Stark's 'evolution' in particular transpires far too early) draining any sense of scope or threat from the film. In many ways, the film feels like a bridging gap towards future superhero smash The Avengers more than self-sustained narrative, with surprisingly little happening despite the flashy trappings.The fault, it would seem, lies with new screenwriter Justin Theroux, who seems determined to take the genuinely fresh array of characters and situations and shoehorn them into tiresomely contrived narrative arcs (the 'father drama' of both Stark and antagonist Ivan Vanko is particularly dreary), none of which feel genuine or compelling. John Debney's musical score serves to further sink in the cliché, his collection of optimistic, soaring strings a severe drop in quality from the former film's spunkier rock score.
That said, only the most jaded would entirely dismiss such an unashamedly enjoyable action smash on account of a clumsy script, and Iron Man 2's redemption lies in its fun factor. In spite of his film's seemingly heavy thematic core (revenge, betrayal of friends, looming mortality), Favreau is wise enough to keep the tone brisk, breezy and often hilarious, and, while still keeping action sequences sparse in favour of character development, sustaining a commendably scrappy energy when things start to go boom (with the exceptions of an embarrassingly ill- advised armour-clad drunken throwdown and the aforementioned dud of a climax). As frustratingly entangled as the film may become, boring is a word which never comes to mind.
In spite of less screen time, looming death and a more ambiguously unlikeable characterization, the peerlessly quirky charisma and cocky sparkle of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark remains immutable, while his armour-clad alter-ego is as slick and captivating as ever. Enormously more watchable than any other contemporary protagonist, Downey Jr. (while incrementally flatter than his first crack at the role) remains easily worth the admission price singlehandedly. Despite moments recalling her former exasperated charm, Gwyneth Paltrow struggles to make alienated love interest Pepper Potts much of a compelling counterpart to Stark, and Don Cheadle (apart from a superb comic denouement) offers stern composure and wounded frowns to the best of his considerable talent as Stark's military liaison buddy James Rhodes but is given few moments to truly shine, even when clad in the formidable War Machine armour. Mickey Rourke's imbalanced Whiplash feels a definitive case of a brilliant characterization improperly handled by the script, yet Rourke bleeds enough vindictive menace and abrasive weirdness to make his otherwise stock villain tremendously effective nonetheless. Sam Rockwell's rival industrialist Justin Hammer is an exquisitely irritating shadow of Stark, his simpering arrogance threatening to steal a show otherwise cemented by Downey Jr. However, the unfeasibly gorgeous Scarlett Johansson, despite her best attempts at contributing steely dignity to the fray, feels blatantly reduced to spandex-clad, vicious action-unleashing eye candy. Still, when she kicks ass so transcendentally it's hard to argue.
While still lively and fun, Iron Man 2 feels too scattershot to come close to the emotional resonance or high-flying exhilaration of its predecessor. With any luck, the sinister shroud of inferred studio string-pulling can be shaken off by round three, that the Golden Avenger might reach his soaring potential once again.
-7/10