Iron Man II

Title: Iron Man II
Rating: 3/5
Genre: Action
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johannson, Mickey Rourke
Director: Jon Favreau

“Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the donut.”

Whilst everyone was raving about Dark Knight, I remember being far more impressed by Iron Man; the film that didn't meander pretending to be deeply dramatic or more intelligent than an action should be but instead cut through the crap to get to the fun parts, but with the sequel it feels as though they've tried to improve on the last by 'doing more.' What I'm essentially trying to subtly point out is that what they've done is put all the crap back in and stuffed it to the point of bursting, resulting in more than a few pacing issues that if not for the wealth of interest in the surrounding sub-plots could quickly become overtly tedious.

Without spending too long on the synopsis, we quickly learn that Tony Stark (Downey) is being poisoned by the palladium in his metal heart and in his final days suffers from a spiral of depression that leaves him trying to live out his remaining life abusing his new found popularity for personal amusement. In steps Ivan Vanko (Rourke), bitter at the theft of his father's invention by Howard Stark – Tony's father – whose quest for revenge garners the attention of rival weapons contractor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) who quickly form a partnership to knock Stark's inflated ego down a few notches.

Now don't get me wrong, I actually appreciate the fact this produces a big-budget action film that doesn't get bogged down trying to be philosophically deep and floundering, or bringing in some drawn out atrocity of a romance element and instead finds itself on the lighter side of things. A good portion of the film is admittedly drawn out longer than necessary but between the drunken brawling and partying, the man on the edge wanting little more than to live out his last days in an adrenaline fuelled rage was far more entertaining than the pseudo-intelligent plots that seem to prevail; the willing to mock themselves with their tongue-in-cheek attitude a rare sight within such a film. The acting remains competent and the new introductions seamlessly blended the fold, and even the effects remain visually impressive and stylish throwing the occasional new trick into the mix.

It is however very clear from the very beginning that this is a marvel production, and after their first foray with Iron Man it feels as though they are trying to establish more of a world of inter-connected Marvel heroes and villains than focus on the story at hand, lost in their own little world with Nick Fury (Jackson) and his whopping two minutes screen time, one scene where Johannson does something other than look pretty, and groan worthy name-dropping with Captain America's shield lying around, Thor's hammer tossed in at the end, and a conveniently placed file with “The Avengers” slapped on the cover, advertising future films in the middle of their own.

The result whilst not bad just feels a little lacklustre; the evil nemesis isn't all that villainous, the 'big bad guy' – the classic cliché 'similar but evil' kind – feels about as threatening as a brave mouse sitting in front of a hungry cat and the tension around Scarlett Johannsen's leather outfit was far more intense than the films finalé, built around looking stylish and managed with an apparent ease as everyone dropped like flies before Iron Man's feet. This feels like a film with an ego that slapped together a few funky effects (and don't get me wrong, particularly the enemies final design makes for an interesting if abrupt ending) and set the stage for their own world before giving consideration to the vast amount of characters crammed into a film and not given the time to speak. In trying to do everything it forgot to get the basics right, and that's more than a little disappointing.