Comic Book Movies 101: Iron Man 2

5th May 2011

“Anyone with half a brain will be sorely disappointed” says one reviewer. Action packed with “noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines” scoffed another. No, they weren’t talking about the next Michael Bay release but Iron Man 2; the film which I for one couldn’t wait for after the spectacular performance of Robert Downey Jr in the first instalment. Reviews of 2 were fair to middling with barely any rating it on the same 10/10 level as the origin story; for the most part on account of the fact that half the film is talking, and the other half is robots punching each other.

I don’t know about you, but I consider myself to be a tiny bit cultured when it comes to film. I can recite chunks of Ben-Hur. I once stayed up all night watching all six Rocky films in a row. I sometimes engage in discussions about the latest cinematic releases with my friends and co-workers. By any rights and certainly according to most reviewers, I should hate Iron Man 2 for being nothing more than mindless and unconnected quips topped off with a CGI-fuelled fist fight between two glorified tin cans. Well, to that I respectfully scoff and put forward the following carefully thought out rebuttal: aside from the rip-roaring action scenes my favourite thing about Iron Man was the delightfully whimsical banter between Tony Stark and his endearingly hysterical assistant Pepper Potts. The ridiculously OTT action scenes kept me hooked throughout the film and warmed my heart to Tony as though he were a real ultra-cool billionaire.

And as if they had read my thoughts, the team behind Iron Man 2 came up with this plot: Stark thinks he’s dying and so goes on a hedonistic rampage, leading to some choice words from Pepper. After making a choice tit out of himself at his own party, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Samuel L Jackson and his lovely assistant Scarlet Johansson catch up with him and give him a good slap on the wrist. Somehow (and much kudos must go to Justin Theroux – screenwriter – for making this plot move seem flawless) it turns out that Stark’s dad left him the blueprint to make up a new element which just so happens to be the self-same element which is the perfect substitute for the Palladium arc reactor which has been slowly but surely poisoning him. Oh, and meanwhile a vengeful Russian stereotype is trying to recreate Stark’s technology so at the end they have a massive and overstated fight with many explosions; thus saving the world and officially ending the Cold War (well ,after all it was all about weapons!).

Between the first and second films there’s little in the way of character development for Stark and Pepper, even if they do both experience life-changing events. Although there’s something to be said for a man who narrowly escapes death and saves the world in the space of one week and remains totally unchanged by the experience; a man of integrity if ever there was one. The standout performance is delivered by Sam Rockwell, who plays Stark’s rival in business (and in life), Justin Hammer. He’s positively repugnant and a classic case study for ‘small man syndrome’, who’ll stop at nothing to see Stark disgraced. Also he does a great little dance towards the end of the film just as he is about to take the first place medal off Stark – or so he thinks.

Tired of legitimately attempting to outdo his business rival, Hammer decides to employ the talents of Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), the aforementioned crazy vengeful Russian, who also happens to be a genius when it comes to engineering. Together, Hammer thinks, they’ll build a fleet of stomping, ronking robotic soldiers which will make Iron Man look like Action Man. But, as is often the case, Hammer’s hubris gets in the way of reality and before long Vanko has abandoned his assignment, instead focusing all his efforts on destroying Tony Stark (incidentally, Stark Sr fired Vakno Sr. It’s good to keep things in the family…).

The climax sees Stark and Rhodey (now played by Don Cheadle) team up against Vanko’s Tin Can Army in a rip-roaring, guns blazing, explosion-littered punch up, which of course Team Stark wins with minimal effort. This part of the film is perhaps what most critics had the biggest problem with; apparently, robots smashing each other up just isn’t enough like a Darren Aronofsky film to win any kudos in Hollywood. Well if LA isn’t big enough for the both of them, I know I’d rather have Iron Man strutting his stuff than the junkie/emotionally crippled type character which seems to be the toast of every awards ceremony at the moment! … And breathe…

But without the Iron, Tony Stark would just be called… ‘Man’. And as expected, the suit delivers everything we loved about it in the first film, but multiplied by about a million. It exudes arrogance with weapons that would put the Israeli army to shame and is excessive to the max. As much as a carry case is a practical necessity, the way it builds itself around Stark’s body at the touch of a button is sheer extravagance. The CGI gets full marks for effort and performance and the designers clearly enjoyed the extensive scope available in creating the lair of a mastermind inventor/billionaire and the technology which Stark has at his fingertips comes across on screen as being just that.

The piece de resistance of the film combines excellent character moments, flawless CGI and jump-for-joy action sequences: the Monte Carlo trash up. What do you get if you cross Robert Downey Jr in an all but invincible iron suit with Mickey Rourke brandishing lightning whips? Carnage, and plenty of it. Even though we know Stark will save the day, it’s a great ride watching him do it particularly with the odd cut to Potts (displaying her special, special brand of hysteria) and Hogan flailing wildly barely a stone’s throw away. The astonishing special effects are only the icing on the cake of an incredibly memorable scene which is so barefaced pleased with itself, I can’t help but give it a pat on the back as well.

Barefaced pleased with itself may actually be the best phrase I can think of to sum up Iron Man 2. It’s been slated and berated left, right and centre but do you see it keeping a low profile? I think not. Here’s to more unabashed, larger than life characters in all genres of film; may they enthral and delight us with their suitably off-the-wall antics for years to come .

Dani Singer