Review: Iron Man 2 (2010)

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell

So the long awaited Iron Man 2 is here, and what do the geniuses at Hollywood have in store for us this time? Well, I have to say this is a bit of a step down from the first one, even in spite of all the bells and whistles and the longer length. This is a movie that tries REALLY hard, to the point where I don't really want to come down on it too hard for its faults, but they are there.

Iron Man 2 just tries to do way too many things at once. It's trying to be like The Dark Knight with its multiple plot threads, but really it isn't near as well articulated. It kind of comes off as a mess, with too many of the threads being a bit dull and just not really that entertaining. As much as I don't want to sound like a shmuck who only wants instantly gratifying action scenes and explosions, but...yeah. Yeah, that would be a big help in this movie! The first one had a lot of down-time without action, too, but there I found it pretty interesting. Here there are about five or six different plot lines going on at once, all very boring, businesslike things that just don't engage me that much. That's the best, most simple way I can put it. None of the characters are that likable, and the ones who are don't get enough screentime. And it just isn't all that memorable, without any kind of defining moment that people will think about and say 'that's Iron Man 2.' It doesn't really have anything like that.

I do appreciate the effort that went into this, as it's clear that this was no half assed effort. They spent a lot of money and you can see a lot of it on screen, with big effects and explosions and really cool looking suits. At the end we do finally get a good fight scene with a really cool setting in this nature-dome place of Stark's, and that is almost worth seeing this movie for, as it really does pack it all: good scenery, witty dialogue, great lighting and colors, and above all, good action. It's a shame it's so damn short.

In the end they simply tried to take on more than they could handle with this. This movie has some fun moments, but at the end of the day, a lot of the stuff going on didn't interest me that much, and I wish they had stuck to a more focused and concise story. This was just OK.