Screenplay by Justin Theroux
Directed by Jon Favreau
“I will do what Howard Stark did to my family over forty years, to you in forty minutes.”
Iron Man 2 can be summed up as “Iron Man 1…more of the same”. This is by no means a criticism. In short, the studio, the director, the screen writer, and actors have discovered a formula that works, and are trying to milk it for every last bit of goodness. Overall, they succeed at this task.
There’s only one off note to the story: the entire Mickey Rourke driven sub-plot of Whiplash. It feels intrusive to the mood and flow of the rest of the film, it’s nowhere near as inspired as the rest of the plot, and Mickey Rourke looks, by turns, bored and disgusted, as if he’s slumming it as a second-rate, comic book caricature. It’s a disappointing addition to an otherwise solid production.
So what DOES work in this film?
The chemistry of the actors, which is scorching. Perhaps more than any other super hero film since 2006’s Superman Returns, this is a film entirely about people, complete with personality conflicts, and surprising character development. No reset buttons on display…just realistic friendships, powerful rivalries, suspicious motives, and a bit of very sweet unrequited love as icing on the cake. It’s very rare when the best thing about a movie is simply watching the actors earn their keep, but Robert Downey Jr & Gwenyth Paltrow once again lead an all-star cast that gells completely, on every level. Hell, even the Avengers foreshadowing is done within the context of the film’s character development…and that’s a feat in itself!
Whiplash aside, the numerous characters never feel like they are overcrowding the film. It’s another common danger of super hero films, as past disasters such as Batman & Robin and Spiderman 3 demonstrate. But Iron Man 2 feels like a fully functional world, populated with fascinating characters who ALL have a reason to be there. Samuel Jackson’s Nick Fury drops in for a few key scenes, which add to the plot AND the character development (to say nothing of injecting some welcome dry humour). Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson keeps the Black Widow under wraps long enough to make us appreciate her as a person, not just a slick government agent. Being the super hero is easy…being a P.A. trying to keep Tony Stark out of trouble is the hard part, and watching her trying to support new C.E.O. Pepper Potts in this monumental task makes for some wonderful, tiriing, and hilarious exasperation.
The direction is just as sharp as in the first film, but the key to success on this occasion is the rationing of the action set pieces. The big finale really IS left until the finale, while the rest of the film is punctuated with bursts of action that never outstay their welcome, and manage to add layers to the plot, even as stuff explodes with big, artistic booms. My only complaint on this score is that the night time battle at the climax gets a little hard to follow at times…but I’ll forgive such a climax for NOT becoming an anti-climax.
As I stated at the outset, Iron Man 2 is more of the same…but in the end, it’s also satisfiying value for money. The makers of the next Transformers film should take a lesson (or three) from this efficient, enjoyable production…before subjecting the world to another loud & overwrought bore fest that makes staggering amounts of money, but wins not a single critical or artistic plaudit.
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