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Tony Stark is unique in the superhero world in that the whole world knows who he is - he is a superhero with no secret identity. In fact, he's under pressure to divulge the technological secrets of his alter-ego over to the US Army who are asking the question, what will happen when, or if, Tony Stark is no longer around to protect us? This causes friction between not only Tony and best friend Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle stepping into Terence Howard's shoes), but also Tony and his assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) who is growing increasingly exasperated at Tony's lackadasical approach to Stark Industries. But other problems are surfacing in the form of Russian scientist Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) who blames Tony for the death of his poverty-stricken father and thus teams up with rival arms contractor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) to bring down Stark Industries and Iron Man. On top of all this, Tony has also discovered that the suit is slowly but surely poisoning him and limiting his effectiveness.

There's a heck of a lot going on in Iron Man 2, but director Jon Favreau never figures out how to gel it all together, to the extent that everything feels underdeveloped and cluttered, instead of flowing as one concise story. Take Tony's conflict with the US Army for example. Tony takes great pride at telling everyone (and the army back him up on this) that as Iron Man he has brought peace to the world and negated hundreds of conflicts around the globe - but we never see any instances of that. Contrast to the very first Superman film or the first two Spiderman films, when they made a conscious effort to show the superhero's efforts affecting the world around them; whereas here almost everything is locked within Tony's little world and we never venture outside it. That's why his battle with the poisonous suit never grips us like it should. Presumably his fall from grace is meant to mirror a fall in the fortunes of a world without Iron Man - but again, that's not seen and all we are given is Stark battling a poisoning that is seemingly no worse than a hangover, while the only person seemingly affected by his behaviour is the increasingly pissed-off Pepper. The fact that the army are, in fact, right to question what would happen if Tony were to die is never particulary explored. Instead, we're left to assume that Tony is always right, no matter how much of a dick he can be, which also means Rhodes' conflict between friendship and duty doesn't have the emotional sting that it should.

If Favreau fails to make this epic that it should be, coming off a fine origin story at it did, then Justin Theroux's bitty screenplay doesn't help either. The first showdown between Iron Man and Ivan, complete with deadly electric whips, at the Monaco racetrack is a belter of an action sequence - but savour it, because the next action scene is a long time coming. Instead, time is taken up with a confusing subplot with Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury, that will be all but incomprehensible for anyone who didn't sit through the first film's closing credits, or who doesn't have any knowledge as to who The Avengers are.

This drags the middle of the film out and drains precious time away from Rockwell, who is fine, but underdeveloped (there's that word again...); and worst of all, Mickey Rourke. With his hulking frame, and thick accent, he makes a great villain - which makes the decision to keep him locked up in a cell for the vast majority of the film all the more baffling. Downey Jr is as good as ever, Paltrow makes her little time count with a sparky performance, but as fetching as Scarlett Johansson is in a figure-hugging catsuit as a spy for Nick Fury, her presence is yet another ingredient this film just doesn't need (although Favreau, making an on-screen appearance as Tony's chaffeur makes sure that his head ends up between her legs in one scene. Director's privilege, I guess).

Favreau does tease us towards the end that the final set-piece of the film is going to be spectacular, but when it comes down to it, it's simply a replay of the first film's end with Iron Man smacking seven bells out of someone in a slightly better suit of armour. Apart from the fact that with Rhodes beside him in another suit, it's over twice as quick.

Perhaps the worst thing of all about Iron Man 2 is that there is nothing inherently wrong with the film - it has a great concept and a great cast and there are no flaws to it that couldn't have been fixed without another polish of the script. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and we're left with a film both flabby and too filling. If there is to be an Iron Man 3, then hopefully Favreau will find something to give it a bit more of a shine and ultimately make it different enough from the first to make it worth bothering with.

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originally posted: 05/06/10 01:37:18
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