Iron Man 2: Review

The line "I am Iron Man" has struck the same cord again, proving that sometimes you really can make magic twice.

Iron Man 2 manages to stand up as a great film, a good sequel, and yet another fantastic Marvel superhero movie, without daring to jump the gap between successful sequel and surpassing sequel. Everything about this movie does well: The effects, the story, the villains, the returning actors … not one beat is missed.

However, it is apparent that Director Jon Favreau recognizes the necessity for certain elements of the film to be accented (like the ever-present S.H.I.E.L.D. References building up to the 2012 release of an Avengers movie) and decided to keep the movie from stepping further into its own. This is a huge shame, and waste of talent from every one of the actors involved.

The story follows six months after the events of the first film and Tony Stark's (Robert Downy Jr.) declaration of "I am Iron Man". Stark has become the new age's nuclear deterrent, defending himself against accusations by the U.S. Senate and rival company CEO Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) that he is only riling up other powerful nuclear nations to create their own army of Iron Men warriors.

Stark also reveals how the metal he uses in his chest piece, the Palladium, is causing some sort of poisonous reaction in his blood. Knowing full well he is dying, we see a much more reckless and eccentric Tony Stark, giving away his personal belongings on a whim, and appointing Pepper Potts (Gwen Paltrow) the CEO of his company.

This time around we are introduced more properly to S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who recognizes Stark's impending fall due to his own carelessness. Fury, in an effort to keep tabs on Tony, sends agent Natasha Romanov (the very beautiful Scarlett Johansson) to infiltrate Stark Enterprises and get close to our hero.

Hints of the famous comic story line "Demon in a Bottle" can be seen this time around, as Stark pushes away all those close to him, knowing he's slowly dying. While it was obvious Favreau wanted to steer clear of the alcoholic references due to Downy's own battle with it, we're given the distinct impression that both actor and director were willing to use that experience to give a gravitas to the character of Tony Stark that no one but Downy could deliver.

Downy manages to once again sparkle on screen as the lovable industrialist, an oxymoron of real world personae. So easily does Downy convince us that he is the first and only line of defense against new world terrorism, we almost miss how deeply troubled the reckless playboy is by his impending doom. The sparks he has with Paltrow make even the most mundane of scenes come to life, and even in the ending battle sequence bring a sense of levity and cheerfulness to an otherwise hauntingly realistic scene of chaos and destruction.

At the end of the day, the film manages to hold up to its predecessor well. While not going that extra mile to be better (with the likes of Spider-man 2 and X-2 having done so, it'd be tough not to try) we can still take an appreciated solace in knowing that Iron Man 2 plays to its audience well, and sets up the next two years worth of Marvel films quite nicely.

I give "Iron Man 2" a 4 out of 5.