Iron Man 2

Coming out of the cinema, I heard mixed impressions on this one. They varied from:
"That was awesome, 10x better than the first one! I wish I was Iron Man..." to "That was disappointing... I think the first one was much better."

I'll be sitting on the fence for the time being, because I think that both of these simplistic statements contain some truth. Iron Man 2 is a fast paced and aesthetically pleasing movie with lots of impressive visual effects. Among other scenes, I’m thinking of the one where Tony Stark dons his Iron Man suit “on-the-go” (his suit being conveniently stowed away in a suitcase like it was his gym gear). To me, that was more impressive than the mechanical blur in the "Transformers" movies. Cheesy dialogue, mushy plots and mainstream sense of humour make it for a really compelling and accessible movie for the wider audience. Iron Man/Tony Stark, now a celebrity superstar, makes an extraordinary entrance into the Stark Expo, with cheerleaders dancing and welcoming him. During the movie, Tony Stark goes on to claim that he has "Privatized World Peace" - catchy.

What was really disappointing for me was the lack of depth with the many new characters in Iron Man 2, despite the A-list cast. Superhero movies often make the mistake of involving too many (supposedly) important and popular characters, only to give them a few minutes of screen time. Mickey Rourke is brilliant as Ivan Vanko and I wish that his character was exploited a bit more. Sam Rockwell is also quite funny and entertaining as the villainous arms dealer that threatens Tony Stark’s empire. As for Robert Downey Jr's acting and presence, there is not much to complain about, as I cannot dissociate him from Tony Stark anymore. Obviously, it's a sequel, and there's always going to be comparisons with the original. But if we take it for what it is (an action movie - explosions!!!), I would say it was quite entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Would recommend for a night out.

Chris How