Awesome. That’s what I thought as I walked out of the cinema. (Speaking of, watch until the end credits have finished to get an extra scene). Anyway, few film sequels match up to their original film and after hearing that “the rust was setting in” on the Iron Man franchise, you could almost say I was prepared to be disappointed if that was the case.
It may not be surprising to see I’ve written a positive review of Iron Man 2 but it would have to be a real bad film to get otherwise because firstly, I’m obviously slightly biased when it comes to Robert Downey Jr, which means that I may tend to judge films more on the performance of the main character (which in the case of actors such as Downey, is bound to be positive). Secondly, as I had heard mixed reactions I wasn’t expecting to be blown away and wasn’t going to delude myself if it wasn’t as great as I thought. So I guess I lowered my expectations a little so not surprisingly, this awesome film superseded them.
However, I honestly enjoyed this film. There was action, drama, some sci-fi and even some comedy thanks to Robert Downey Jr’s witty dialogue. (i.e. when Pepper and Tony Stark are talking about the blonde journalist who interviewed him in the first Iron Man. Pepper: “She did a spread on Tony last year.” Tony: “She also wrote an article.” Ooooh!)
I also have to mention the addition of some great actors in this sequel. Besides the fantastic Downey (who seems to just seamlessly be able to slip into any role) and Gwyneth Paltrow’s character Pepper, Mickey Rourke joins the cast as evil Russian Ivan Vanko, as well as Scarlett Johansson (who plays Pepper’s mysterious assistant and is an agent) and Samuel L. Jackson (as Nick Fury).
Contrary to what I was expecting, there actually was a strong plot to build this sequel on. Iron Man 2 begins with Tony Stark not wanting to turn in his suit to the authorities and claims no other country will be able to build the technology for a number of years. There of course, is the problem, as we saw in the first film, it’s not going to be too hard for someone else to eventually replicate the suit’s technology. Tony Stark is not a scientific genius (I think in this case Ivan Vanko is probably closer). So we know that Stark’s technology is not untouchable. So there lies the main crux of the story. Couple that with the rival weapon manufacturer Justin Hammer, who helps release the evil Vanko out of jail to help him build his own iron men, and you’ve got yourself an interesting plot. And fortunately, by the end of the film, Tony is able to invent a new element to get himself one step ahead again. Luckily, too he has a sidekick because it would be really unrealistic for Iron Man to defeat all those drones, in the final battle near the end, singlehandedly (not that the scenario is realistic itself − although maybe in the future).
Interestingly, I noticed that despite Russians often being cast as ‘bad guys’ in many Hollywood action films, Iron Man 2 realistically showed that conflict quite often comes from within as well. In other words, the film presents America as its own biggest enemy. World peace is not a simple thing that can be acquired (unlike perhaps some other superhero films suggest), which I think ultimately makes the plot a lot stronger and believable.
Another thing which probably has helped propel the Iron Man franchise to its amazing success is that it’s essentially about a real guy who becomes a hero − and from then on still remains ‘real’. It’s not a Batman or Superman who has this ‘super’ element inside them − for Tony (yes, although he does have the iron man heart), he is essentially powerless without the iron man suit. Tony Stark clearly has a big ego and loves the attention he gets but he also makes mistakes and has significant character flaws (i.e the amusing scenes of the drunk iron man at Stark’s birthday). He is more accessible and relatable to public (and more broadly, to the audience of the film) through his human personality and charm. So ultimately Tony Stark is not the hero, the suit is. And that makes for a great film.
5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment