Editorial: It’s Time to Make Peace with STAR WARS
George Lucas Addresses Changes to STAR WARS; Maintains Greedo Shot First
17 New Images from GAME OF THRONES Season Two [Updated with Hi-Res]
Collider Visits the Set of JOHN CARTER
Set Photos from M. Night Shyamalan’s AFTER EARTH Starring Will SmithIRON MAN 2 Review
by Matt Goldberg Posted:May 6th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
|
|
 |
|
It’s important to kick off the summer movie season with a bang. No one wants to get their summer off to a bad start, especially if you’re a movie studio. Iron Man 2 is arguably the most highly-anticipated film this year and it’s expected to break box office records in its opening weekend. While it should easily meet the demands of a weekend gross, you should rest assured that it doesn’t fall short on quality either. Robert Downey Jr. still charming as hell? Check. Strong supporting cast? Check. Bigger and better action sequences? Check. As tightly constructed and paced as the original Iron Man? (Errr…) Enjoyable time at the movies? Check! Iron Man 2 may not be quite as good as the first film, but it’s still a strong lead-in to the march of the summer 2010 blockbusters.
After revealing himself as Iron Man to the entire world, Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) has defied expectations by becoming even more of an egomaniac. Declaring himself the savior of mankind, a one-man nuclear deterrent, and so brilliant that it would take decades for someone to recreate the Iron Man technology, Stark is riding high…except that he’s dying. The Arc-Reactor energy core he used to save his life is now slowly killing him. The reactor core is burning out its Palladium power source and leaving Tony with the gift of blood poisoning. The fact that the Iron Man suit is also powered by the mini Arc Reactor means he’s using it more than he has to just so he can show off and dazzle the world as Iron Man. His ego is literally killing him.
Of course, his ego will have to get in line. The U.S. government wants Tony to turn over the suit, rival weapons industrialist Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) wants to create a line of Iron Man-like suits for a fat government contract, and Tony’s friend Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) is being forced to betray his pal in order to save him. Oh, and there’s a very angry Russian physicist named Ivan Danko (Mickey Rourke) who is building his own Iron Man-like suit in order to kill Tony.
As you can see, there are a lot of little storylines coming at Stark in this movie along with the mandatory Avengers set-up that has to come in and remind us that Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his agent Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) are part of a bigger universe that’s coming together over several films. Iron Man 2 manages to hold everything together, but the film is stretched so thin that it begins to lose some of its energy midway through. But nothing can overcome Downey’s performance and before the flick begins to fray, director Jon Favreau charges into the third act and brings the house down (in this case, the house is the size of several square blocks).
It goes without saying, but I can spare the digital ink: these movies would not work without Robert Downey Jr. In the hands of a less-talented actor, Tony’s arrogance and self-indulgence could easily have the come off as obnoxiousness. With Downey, arrogance becomes bravado and self-indulgence becomes eccentric. But you can’t praise Downey without praising Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays his beleaguered assistant/confidant/love-interest Pepper Potts. They play off each other so well and their quick and easy banter is unique in the realm of superhero movies.
I was a little worried about Rourke and what he would do with such an odd character who is a physics genius/Russian prisoner/bird-lover, but he makes it work. Johansson doesn’t get to do much except look sexy (and she’s very good at that), although her one action scene drew cheers from the audience. As for Cheadle, he took over the role of Rhodey from Terrence Howard after Howard’s contract negotiations with Marvel fell through. Cheadle’s a little stiff in the beginning, but as the film progresses, the role seems to fit him better and by the end, he’s happily kicking ass and making quips alongside Tony. It’s amazing what a world-saving suit of armor will do for one’s personality.
But the performance people will walk away talking about is Rockwell. We all knew Downey would be great and he doesn’t disappoint. Fans of Rockwell know he’s great in just about anything he does. But during the second act when the film begins to sag and Tony become isolated, Rockwell picks up the slack and leaves his mark on the film. His performance as Hammer is like if a used car salesman one day got promoted to run a global weapons manufacturer. Hammer is Tony if Tony wasn’t gifted, brilliant, moral, and charming. Rockwell had me laughing at almost every single one of his lines and he keeps the film fun when the film is running low on energy.
It’s important to mention the performances first because that’s where Iron Man 2 places its priorities. Despite the numerous mini plotlines, Iron Man 2 is ultimately a character-driven film. However, Favreau did not forget the lessons of the first film when it came to staging action. Every set piece in the sequel far outdoes the climactic battle against Iron Monger (Jeff Bridges) in the first film. In fact, the climactic battle of Iron Man 2 could use a little bit of a trim, but it’s staged so well that it doesn’t really matter. People will argue over which action scene they liked the best, and that means they all worked of them worked (well, almost all;there’s a mano-a-mano fight between Stark and Rhodey that feels sloppy and poorly-staged, especially when compared to the other action sequences).
Iron Man 2 doesn’t manage to out-do the first film. If you’re thinking back to how the sequels for X-Men and Spider-Man were better than their first installments, remember that the first Iron Man was and still is the best superhero movie debut. It’s a tough act to follow. Unfortunately, the simple structure provided by the origin story is no longer around to provide a solid backbone and the movie falters at times as a result. But when it works—and it works most of the time—Iron Man 2 is a highly-enjoyable time at the movies and a great kick-off to the summer.
Rating: B+
Please Like Collider on Facebook
|
|
|
|
I watched this online with my kids. We found ourselves either falling asleep or engaging in conversation about other stuff. The first one was way better, in my opinion. The movie I’m looking forward to is The Prince of Persia.
i thought it was bored and flat! but the male cast is great!
Pop is right. The movie is boring and flat and nothing is at stake and there's no dramatic tension or reason to get invested in the plot or the action.
THe first IRON MAN was the “best super hero movie debut” What??
Better than The original SUPERMAN, BATMAN, SPIDER-MAN, hell I'll even throw in BATMAN BEGINS.
The first IRON MAN is grossly overrated. I haven't seen IM 2 but I'm more excited about seeing that SUPER 8 trailer. It appears that the overall consensus for IM 2 is an overwhelming meh.
Wow. Two Guest posters with almost identical monosyllabic names, views on the film AND lack of grammar post within 10 minutes of each other. What are the odds???
Nice review, Matt. I look forward to seeing the movie this weekend, despite what these other “two” posters say.
It's good, as long as you go for character, performance and dialogue, not plot or action. The action lacks tension and the plot lacks drama. Just once, I'd like to see a superhero movie where the hero is solving a problem he didn't pretty much create to begin with.
But the character bits are really good; if they could find a director who's as good with action as with actors, you could have a really great Iron Man movie. But I suspect Jon Favreau is not the guy.
I agree with your last paragraph, Matt. I really wanted to like it more. It was only “good” not by any means “great”.
Yes, the consensus is “meh” as far as I'm concerned. I saw the film last week. But I must agree with Matt that Iron Man 1 was the best super hero debut, if only because it had much lower expectations than ANY of the films you mention. Technically, it may not be a better film than Superman or Batman Begins, but it didn't have the hype surrounding it or such a huge fanbase as any of those other franchises. So it was sort of a sleeper hit and therefore a bigger success.
Lol! “despite what these other “two” posters say.” ROFL. Nice.
I am not Pop or Blob or both but I agree the film was very underwhelming for me. Granted, there are scenes of absolute greatness, some good action and some funny moments. RDJ is awesome, as always. The whole cast is quite good in fact, but RDJ and perhaps Rourke are really the only ones who really keeps it interesting. Cheadle and Paltrow's characters are so boring and lame in this it makes me sad for the actors who I know deserve much better. Scarlett Johansson was merely ok. Her action scene was very cool, but the rest of the scenes with her were not interesting at all.
Obviously Favreau is an excellent director so I can't blame him. I think it must be the writer's fault, mostly, and possibly Marvel for wanting to rush a sequel to the screen so fast that they didn't have time to take a critical look at what they were doing.
I have to say that I did like IRON MAN. I just think it is overrated.
So you're saying it's the best debut because you weren't expecting much? That's not really saying a lot. I had no expectations too and I thought it was just okay. BATMAN BEGINS had a built in fan base but I don't think there was a ton of hype over it. If anything people were saying “another BATMAN movie?” I don't think people were expecting a great movie either. BB is more of a sleeper hit than IM according to your logic.
goddamn it that macgruber ad is so F&*$ing annoying! every page i open i have to hear that shit! wtf!
I'll jus agree with pop and whoever else below. everything in this movie was worse than the original except for the action scenes. the scene of war machine and IM fighting together (same as from the trailer) is ridiculously awesome. but the script and direction and supporting cast was simply flat. the villains were simply annoying. the first scene of ivan w/ his father was laughable. they may as well have put a caption on the bottom: invest emotionally, please. too bad. but there will be another and i still have confidence in Favreau to bring it back up.
superman sucks. the problem with superman is that he's invincable. and unforetunately, movies are not comins, so no one will ever invest in a weakness to kryptonite. thats the reason superman movies have failed in the recent years…people wanna see an awesome villian and they never will with this character.
the best debut superhero movie was either spiderman or BB. i cant decide because they are both excellent. but as fun as IM was/is, it does not stand up to those two.
No, I'm not saying I wasn't expecting much. I expected a lot actually because I'm a big fan of both Favreau and RDJ as well as Marvel comics in general, so I knew it would be great (or rather expected it to be). For me, it was all that and more. Perfect.
What I meant above is that in general, audiences were pleasantly surprised by the film and thus it rates higher than say Spider-Man 3, which people had VERY HIGH expectations for, and were mostly disappointed. As for it being the best “debut” I guess I shouldn't be so certain it is. For me, yes. But as a general statement that may be presumptuous. But it's certainly up there with the best.
And Iron Man 2 was disappointing, but still quite good. It is certainly no Spider-Man 3 or Superman Returns. It's possibly more comparable with X-Men 3 or Daredevil. Maybe slightly better?
I see your point. But if we are talking about which movie debut was received better by audiences in general, then I think what SPIDER-MAN did is more impressive. SM had a huge fan base, hype and it delivered. There was no pressure on IRON MAN.
But if IM is your personal favorite that's cool.
I never really thought about best super hero movie debut. I guess technically I can't pick BATMAN BEGINS, but that one would be my favorite.
I just saw the IM2 and it was ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Downey was superb! But the movie had nothing but garbage to tread. The director Favreau or however you spell his fu***** name put himself in like every damn shot!!!!
What, he Diddy now! OMFG! What a shit story line. Whiplash makes all that hightech crap in a freaking dirty ass basement? He knows how to fly the suit without any training and he looked older than his old dying man in the movie. And Downey's character makes a new element by just pointing a laser at it. And the inspiration came from looking at a model of the earth.
Dear lord help me see the light!!!!!
This was a thrown together, dumb ass, two many witches in the kitchen(hollywood corner office schmucks), fiasco!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And yah there was the Thor easter egg at the end that happens to be playing on Youtube thank you.
Thor's hammer looks like a small goddamn toy you'd find in the dollar store.
Nick Fury was fat, Scarlett Jo was booooooring!! Hollywood just uses her ass for sexiness. Can't act worth a damn.
Fuck that movie!!
The story was a lot better and more engaging than in the first movie. You're a fucking idiot.
Bring it back up from what? This movie has already been a big box office hit. It was a lot better than most shitty superhero flicks out there. I don't know what kind of drugs you're on.
“Hell I'll even throw in Batman Begins.” That's a confusing way to put it. If there is a superhero debut capable of challenging Iron Man it was probably Batman Begins. It was unlike any superhero movie that came before in that it's tone was unprecedented for a comic book film.
As for the first Iron Man being overrated, I'd disagree (though the ending fight is pretty lame) but that's fair enough.
bringing it back up to a the standard that was set to the first one. i have no interest in how much money a movie makes. simply none. here's an example: Transformer's 2 made more money than IM2 in its first day. That movie was a pile of shit. You can also point to just about every Michael Bay film and say the same thing. the reason so many movies are box office hits, is because marketing is done well and there are so many morons who know nothing and will wet their pants over everything.
i'd agree. but performance of Sam Rockwell was both annoying and bad. Him yelling at venko was laughable. I'd also recommend seeing Batman Begins for a superhero movie of a guy solving a problem he didn't create. Or Spiderman. Or X-men. (i think u kinda dropped the ball on that one…)
FYI: the super 8 trailer is worthless. a train wreck and angry animal sounds. fail.
a film doesnt become better because it's better than wat people thought it would be. you're setting the standard of a film by the publics assumption of its quality. if this is the case, Michael Bay is one of the most respected film makers in the business. see what i'm getting at?
I said “Hell I'll even throw in Batman Begins” because technically it was the debut. The Batman debut was Tim Burton's film. And YEs Batman Begins was awesome.
You can't sayIRON MAN isn't overrated but the ending fight was lame?? That's precisely why I think it is overrated. The ending was completely meh. The action in general was just okay.
It was a teaser trailer. A teaser is supposed to intrigue you without showing any of the actual movie. That's exactly what it did.
“i have no interest in how much money a movie makes.”
Neither do I nor have I suggested as such. The reason why could be this:
“It was a lot better than most shitty superhero flicks out there.”
Yep, you're a moron who can't read or judge a movie by story or actors, but only by special FX. Typical Michael Bay fanboy. Pitiful.
superman does not suck. the superman universe is vast and there are several interesting and dangerous villains that superman has had to face in his long history. the problem with superman is that no one can present a physical challenge to him, so you have to go at the ethical gray areas that plague him. the problem isn't the character, the problem is that no one in hollywood is interested in taking the character seriously or offering a superman movie that could be accused of lacking action. but this is precisely the kind of superman movie that would make the character interesting.
ninnies
Batman Begins yeah cool, but no, just because there's a label called Tim Burton dont go all hatin on IM, the same thing you could say for Dark Knight too, if it wasnt for Heath L. the film would be in trash cans, the first one was good enough, and the DK was awesome, ( about Iron man i completely agree with the ending fight scene)
And i think it's not overrated it's just cuz Marvel studios made it what it is, if it wasn't for 20th Century fox to ruin all the marvel chars, we would think that IM1 was a fun movie to watch but not what you expected it to be. IM was what's Iron Man is all about in the comic books. (except the end ok
)
The 2nd movie was solid. Better than the 1st one in my opinion. With all the geeky stuff going around from the comic books, and RDJ was also Tony Stark himself imo.
Iron Man 2 will be just like Iron Man and of the other Superhero shit movies out there, well it keeps the dumb-ass teenagers entertained I guess =P
Wow, hello pot, meet kettle. The story was better and more engaging? Is this reply supposed to be a joke? I guess I was more engaged in the sense that I was mocking the shitty dialogue and laughing at how terrible the movie was the entire time. What a waste of $8 and 2 hours of my life that I'll never get back…
Yes, male actors seem always lead the way in touching movie viewers. Men from Get Him to the Greek like P.Diddy, Russell Brand and Jonah showed how funny they are in that movie. super funny!