| 'IRON MAN 2' - review |
| Written by Sian Rafferty |
| Friday, 07 May 2010 20:14 |
 The first ‘IRON MAN’ movie came at a time when the world was beginning to loose hope. This was a time (and many of us still shudder when recalling this gloomy period) before ‘The Dark Knight' burst onto the screen and rewrote the entire superhero genre. It was a time when ‘Batman Begins', was the sole shining light in a darkness filled with ‘Ghostrider’, Ang Lee’s ‘Hulk’ and the later ‘Spiderman’ sequels. But then came ‘Iron Man', and although it was nothing brilliant, it had a zesty freshness which inspired hope, and shocked more than one sceptic. The thing which made ‘Iron Man’ such an awakening, would have to be the sheer coolness of it all. Other superheroes take themselves way too seriously - ‘I am Clark Kent: I must save the world yet again. Let me don my red pants and blue tights...’ - yet Iron Man in all his shiny modern-ness, is just so darn cool. But isn’t at all modest - he never hides behind a nerdy reporter guise. No - Tony Stark is a mega billionaire, playboy, genius - who happily announces to the world that... Yes: he is Iron Man; and Yes: he wants a medal declaring it. In real life you would want to be him, but you would also hate his guts.  The sequel picks off after Stark announces to the world the he is Iron Man. Ready for a life of girls and fans, flashy demonstrations, booze and the occasional mission to quell trouble in the Middle East, Stark settles into his ideal life. Yet the American Government have other ideas, and Stark is soon dragged through the courts, after objections to what he calls the privatisation of global peace. It’s a good starting point, echoing key themes from other works in the genre such as ‘The Watchmen’. What happens when individuals control peace, not the law? Throw into the story a mad Russian physicist - Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rouke) - with a craving for vengeance, and the cushy world of Tony Stark is about to come crashing down around him.  Robert Downey Jr. was definitely the stand-out actor in the first movie. His personal career echoed the general lull in superhero movies at the time, and like a phoenix from the ashes, he fashioned a comeback using his own fall from grace to create a character. This time around he has still got it, but the real stand-out performance would have to be Mickey Rouke as ‘Whiplash’. There is just something about the man. No matter how mangled he looks and no matter how much surgery, the man (as my parents would say), just has It. Something undefinable and engaging which makes you just want to watch him, even though he is old, and only every mutters stinted Russian-English. I guess it’s just one of life’s little mysteries.  Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushmore was a pretty predictable cast as the new girl - who else could fill out a leather cat-suit better? For some reason, I always felt that that woman would only ever play the villain. I don’t know why I thought that - maybe it is just something about her in general which lends her to those types of presumptions. Either way, she is fiery and strong as the Black Widow. On the other hand, Gwyneth Paltrow, who as Pepper Potts I found oddly comforting and refreshing in the first film, just appeared constantly stressed and whiny in this one. Someone wrap that woman in a plushy robe and give her a big hot chocolate already.  ‘Iron Man 2’ made an enjoyable sequel to the first; worth playing for a ticket - yet just not quite up to speed with the first film. Still, there is nothing like seeing a shiny red man zoom around for a couple of hours - and making lights come out of his hand - to bring out a smile on these cold Winter nights. And yes, yes... and all ‘The Avengers’ stuff is totally awesome as well (although I kind of miss Terrance Howard as ‘War Machine’). 'Iron Man 2' is in cinemas now - watch the trailer below... |
