It seems to be an unwritten rule in Hollywood that the second film in a major motion picture franchise has to be the darker, more introspective entry.
The original ‘Star Wars’ saga did it back in 1980. So did ‘Indiana Jones’, ‘Back to the Future’, ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘X-Men’, ‘Planet of the Apes’, ‘Blade’, ‘Hellraiser’… seriously, I could go on.
Although only two films in, it looks like the ‘Iron Man’ series has no intentions of breaking that rule any time soon.
Things have been going decidedly downhill for billionaire industrialist Tony Stark since we saw him last. The miniature arc reactor in his chest, originally designed to stop the shrapnel in his body working its way to his heart, is now poisoning him to death with its palladium core.
This, coupled with the slow deterioration of his relationship with perky P.A. Pepper Potts, has put a rather substantial crimp in our erstwhile hero’s otherwise perfect day.
Spiraling uncontrollably downwards into a drunken maelstrom of pity and self-destruction, Stark soon finds himself in Monaco on the business end of a pair of lethal energy whips, wielded by mad Russian scientist Ivan Vanko. Vanko is out for revenge against a family he believes is responsible for his own father’s deportation and eventual death in extreme poverty.
As Stark’s popularity with the American public begins to plummet, rival weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer sees this as the perfect opportunity to muscle in on the superhero business, recruiting Vanko to help build the ultimate combat suit and inevitably topple the Stark monopoly.
It’s odd, but ‘Iron Man 2’actually feels like a very different movie from its faster paced, action-orientated predecessor. With its ponderous first two acts and the emphasis on a strong character driven narrative, you would be forgiven for thinking it was a good twenty minutes longer.
Justin Theroux’s intelligent script presents us with a comic book adaptation that has more in common with Christopher Nolan’s wonderful Batman re-imagining rather than, say, Sam Raimi’s colourful Spidey nonsense. A story that is more concerned with the character behind the superhero identity rather than merely a showcase for impressive CGI set pieces.
Here we’re seeing a little more of Tony Stark the emotionally unstable, alcoholic anti-hero. It is a film with its origins rooted more in stories such as Joe Quesada’s ‘Mask in the Iron Man’ or Michelinie and Layton’s ‘Demon in a Bottle’, rather than Warren Ellis’ ‘Extremis’ arc or Orson Scott Card’s ‘Ultimate Iron Man’ reboot favoured by the first movie.
But that’s not to say that this second Iron Man entry is by any means less exciting or enjoyable as its companion. Indeed not.
‘Iron Man 2’ definitely has its moments, most notably during the third and final act. This is due, in no small part, to the inclusion of War Machine, something that delighted your humble reviewer no end, being, as I am, a fan of the 2001 Max Comics twelve-part mini series – although the War Machine seen here has been suitably toned down to fit in with the family ethos of the ‘Iron Man’ franchise.
The choice of Sam Rockwell as rival industrialist Justin Hammer is truly inspired. Having already proven his mettle by playing Zaphod Beeblebrox in SF classic ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ there’s little doubt that Rockwell is up to the challenge.
Arguably one of the few American actors around today who can match Robert Downey Jr for both screen presence and charisma, the scenes they share are truly a joy to behold. Despite clocking up very little actual screen time together their verbal sparing remains one of the true highlights of the film as a whole.
It may be a little darker, a little edgier and not quite so reliant on big, spectacular explosions, but ‘Iron Man 2’ still packs a lot of wallop. Perhaps it doesn’t work quite so well as a stand-alone film, but as a lead-in to the inevitable third installment it does the job admirably.
Just like the first ‘Iron Man’ film, but with 30% more grit. Marvel readers should love it.
