Review- Iron Man 2

Short version: Iron Man 2 is as good as the first and an excellent way to start the summer movie season. You should see it on the big screen.

Grade: A-

This move is the official start of the summer blockbuster season so I find it very satisfying that the movie is actually great. All of the most important pieces are still there. Robert Downy Jr.’s Tony Stark is still an enjoyably flamboyant smart ass; Gwyneth Paltrow is still an adorably uptight sourpuss; and Director John Favreau is behind the camera. The only change to the cast is that Terence Howard has been replaced by the equally capable Don Cheadle who, in my opinion, (nothing against Terrance Howard, I’m a big fan) is actually a better fit for the role. Along with that, we get an enjoyably weird and creepy performance from Mickey Rourke who plays the films new villain. Rourke is especially perfect to go head to head with Downy Jr., as is Sam Rockwell, both of whom make for colorful characters in their own ways to play against our eccentric hero. Both of the villains are also intriguing parallels to the main character himself. Rourke’s being that of the criminal version of Iron Man, and Rockwell being a Tony Stark without any true wit making it quite enjoyable to see how they come together to be a threat to Iron Man. In addition, there is another parallel in the form of Don Cheadle’s much anticipated character of “War Machine” in this movie, which would seem to be Iron Man if he were in the military.

The action sequences and special effects are fantastic with the tail end of the movie being especially entertaining. The story moves at a fast and steady pace with enough humor to keep you engaged when the action takes a back seat to the plot and character development. The story also feels like a natural step toward the planned Avengers movie due out in 2012. The plot focuses on Tony Stark’s realization that the protection of the world and taking care himself at the same time are not a job he can do alone, a perfect setup for where the movies sequels will surely take the character. The surprise hit of the movie for me was Scarlett Johanssen as the Black Widow. She steals the scenes she is in throughout the movie and has some impressive fight scenes at the end of the film.

The wit of the movie remains completely in tact and true to the comic books on which the movie is based. There is a great bunch of scenes featuring Gary Shandling as a U.S. Senator. That provides for some superbly comical moments. The effects are top notch and add a certain level of artistic narrative to many scenes in the movie, specifically the interactive hologram effects. They make even the scientific and mechanical work that Tony dose in his basement feel like art instead of an episode of orange county choppers. They also make the movie’s A.I. version of Jarvis the butler a thousand times cooler than the old man version in the comics, whom the A.I. has replaced.

Overall, I think Iron Man 2 is better than the first film and pretty much a perfect popcorn flick. It is worth your hard-earned dollar and I highly recommend the movie to anyone and suggest seeing it soon to kick the summer off properly.