A Noisey Sequel Long On Action Short on Thought

Rating: 7/10 (7 June 2013)

First of all, I tried to watch this on cable channel FX which blew it up to a 3 hr. presentation with far too many "extras" and commercials. (It's only a 2 hour movie.) Tony Stark believes he has achieved "World Peace" thru the creation of "Iron Man" so naturally there has to be a loose cannon; crazy Russian "Vanko" (played to the hilt by Mickey O'Rourke) who thinks Stark's dad stole the design from his dad. So the motive is revenge. Are you confused yet? So many things going on. Stark is dying from radioactive poisoning. The government wants to create the ultimate drone soldier and a competing corporation wants to steal the contract from Stark Industries. It plays a little like "Short Circuit" meets "Robocop 2" with a dash of tin-can "Cylons" mixed in. Very cartoonish, which, of course, leads to a wonderful mindless climax with dozens of exploding evil drones and tons of action. (Kids ages 6 to 12 will love it.) People running for their lives from a set that looks like Epcot's "World Showcase" but isn't. The best sequence occurs far earlier in the film at a Monte Carlo race from Hell with race cars sliced in two by "Vanko" with his pulsating "laser whip". It all left me with a big headache. Scarlett Johansson, as "Black Widow/Natasha" "kicks butt" and she has better moves than the Iron Men. (Yes, there are 2 Iron Men plus villain makes 3.) Like all the bad sequels after the original "Superman", it's overblown and sort of a waste of time. In general, I didn't like it, but "Natasha" is amazing in her beyond skin-tight cat suit. Wow!