Movie review of Iron Man 2
DAMIEN’S RATING of Iron Man 2: 7 – This was a good movie. I do not think that it’s worth the price of a theatre ticket, though. Wait for the DVD.
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Iron Man 2 reviewed in 25 words or less: This was a disappointing sequel to the original blockbuster, Iron Man. Iron Man 2 is precisely why movie-goers have such skepticism about sequels.
FULL REVIEW of Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 has, by any standard, a superb cast including Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, John Slattery, (Director) Jon Favreau, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, Leslie Bibb, Garry Shandling and Christiane Amanpour. But even this headliner cast couldn’t make a silk purse out of this sow’s ear of a film.
Tony Stark is dying; from the very device which is keeping him (and Iron Man) alive. Pepper wants to quit. The government wants the Iron Man suit. Stark’s business is failing. Mickey Rourke, as Ivan Vanko, wants revenge. And Sam Rockwell, as business rival Justin Hammer, wants Tony Stark, Stark Industries and Iron Man destroyed! Iron Man 2 is certainly not lacking in the tragedy side of the equation.
I think what Iron Man 2 was lacking in was the, how should I say this, goodness? Positiveness? Success? The point is, in Iron Man Tony Stark did a lot of good despite the odds. His moral compass remained steady and his victories were cheered by all. In Iron Man 2 Tony is a mess on a personal level, and his only ‘good deed’ comes at the very end. And that good deed had to be manufactured, per se.
Hats off to some of the actors in Iron Man 2 for outstanding jobs. I thought Sam Rockwell stole the show, myself – at least in the acting category. Mickey Rourke did ‘weird/evil’ very well, as always, but his shallow dialog and poor accent detracted a bit. The rest of the leads did what they could with what they were given – much to their credit, but they weren’t given much. Especially in the cases of Don Cheadle and Robert Downey Jr. – it was like watching race horses run with anvils tied to their tails.
The special effects in Iron Man 2 are, as one has every right to expect, top drawer. I especially liked the race car scene, which featured Mickey Rourke’s character. This was, save possibly for the introduction of the attaché case Iron Man suit scene, the only really creative, new special effects scene of the movie. Still, all of the special effects were very well crafted and presented.
I am a huge fan of the first Iron Man movie. I have it in my DVD collection and watch it every couple of months. Like many other fans, I was really excited about the release of Iron Man 2. I know, I know – this creates expectations that can lead to a bias when finally seeing the film. Just so you know, I did compensate for this factor by giving Iron Man 2 a rating of 7 instead of a 6.
In closing, true to my rating, I wish I had waited for Iron Man 2 to come out on DVD before seeing it. Some fast forwarding would have made it much more palatable.
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