Allow me to say right now that a sequel to match up to its successful predecessor is rare these days. That is confirmed with Iron Man 2, even though it returns Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow with director Jon Favreau.
The film continues where the first Iron Man left off. Tony Stark is still the head of Stark Industries, but the shrapnel he received in the first film is weakening him considerably. Obadiah Stane, the villain from before, has since been long forgotten, but Stark finds an old enemy in the Russian Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke. Having to battle Ivan as well as his own self, Stark suits up for some more superhero entertainment!
In my review for Iron Man, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it really was. Iron Man 2, however, did not live up to my expectations. The acting and the direction hasn’t been much improved since previously. Downey Jr. is still good, but yet again Paltrow’s performance was disappointing. Sam Rockwell co-stars as Justin Hammer, the Stark’s main business competitor, whose performance is just as unconvincing as it is silly.
Fortunately, the sequel’s main formula is the same as before, keeping the same characters and actors and adding a few new ones: Hammer, as I said before, was necessary but his role was too undermined (he is portrayed as a helpless villain). Samuel L. Jackson is a minor co-star as Nick Fury, the head of SHIELD. Jackson’s character isn’t given enough screen time. And Scarlett Johansson is Stark’s new secretary who secretly is a secret agent working for SHIELD. She’s given plenty of screen time if you ask me. Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard as Colonel Rhodes. I preferred Howard over Cheadle.
The style of Iron Man 2 is all in the same formula as before. Downey is once again perfectly cast as Tony Stark/Iron Man. His charisma and appeal hasn’t changed a bit, and his character is funny, loveable and pleasing to the audience.
Paltrow’s performance as Stark’s secretary Pepper Potts is again lowly, unconvincing and not near as likable as Stark. Her performance has not improved over before.
As far as I am concerned, director Jon Favreau is fine enough sitting down in the director’s chair, calling the shots and leading the actors. This time around, he still has the laughs and light heartedness in his movie, but the film this time around still isn’t as pleasurable as the first installment.
I’ll end my review just as I had started it. It’s rare these days for a sequel to overcome its predecessor, and Iron Man 2 confirms that. It’s a standard issue summer blockbuster.
** ½/5
No comments:
Post a Comment