The first huge movie of the summer opens Friday, but is Iron Man 2 worthy of blockbuster status?
Robert Downey Jr. returns in the role of industrialist Tony Stark, who serves the world as the armor-clad hero, Iron Man. All of the great things that Downey brought to the role in the first film are still present in the sequel. Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jon Favreau each return to the roles they played in the first film as well. Don Cheadle takes over as James Rhodes (played in the first movie by Terrence Howard) and while he doesn't take anything away from the role, he doesn't seem to improve upon it either. The performances that stand out here are Sam Rockwell as rival industrialist Justin Hammer and a fun cameo by Garry Shandling as loud-mouthed Senator Stern.
The movie strives to be realistic while at the same time dazzling the audience with futuristic technology. While it does a competent job of the latter at times it strays far from the former, such as when early in the film villain Ivan Vanko (played by Mickey Rourke) creates rival technology in his home, or in a key moment later in the film Stark figures out a way to solve the problems that he is having with his armor.
The film's effects are top notch and very impressive on the IMAX screen, but the grand finale seemed to fall flat to me. And while Rourke creates a believable character in Vanko, he just doesn't seem to be enough of a villain to carry the film.
For hardcore comics geeks there is a lot of build-up towards the formation of the Avengers, with Samuel L. Jackson returning in the role of Nick Fury and Scarlett Johansson playing Natasha Romanoff. Also there is a scene included after the credits teasing a forthcoming Marvel movie, which comics fans will appreciate.
Overall while I did enjoy this movie, I felt that it wasn't quite as good as its predecessor. I do feel it's worth seeing in the theater, especially for those looking for a summer escape.
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