Iron Man 2 has every element required of a summer megamovie. It’s full of explosions and expensively shot action sequences. There is a charming hero that we know must prevail. There is magic – although in this case the magic is just tech that’s a decade or two from making sense to us. There is even sort of a love story. All of the necessary pieces are present in good working order.
If that was all Iron man 2 brought to the table, it would still make a squillion dollars and ensure that John Favreau never has to park his own car. To Mr. Favreau’s great credit, the original Iron Man made a game attempt at being something more than a money machine. There was some satire, some adult wit and the brilliant casting choice of Robert Downey, Jr. and all of his famous baggage.
The first Iron Man movie did a lot to raise the bar for comic book movies. Unlike GI Joe or the Transformers, IM offered as much to adults as it did to children. Iron Man 2 isn’t that kind of game-changer. Favreau delivers us some great mugging by Downey, some great (but overly long) action sequences and the obligatory raft of cameos. I don’t mean to sell any of that short. I had a good time, and you will probably enjoy it as well.
My complaint is that the movie has more sights but less vision than its predecessor. The movie steps away from commenting much on our current world and focuses on the personal struggles of Tony Stark. the problem with spending ninety minutes focused on Tony’s health, or his love life, or his relationship with his distant father is that the outcome of all these things is predetermined. We know he wins – his name is on the marquee. We know his ailments will be cured and that he will kiss the girl he’s supposed to kiss. The mid-life ruminations of Mr. Stark also rob us of screen time for his adversaries, both of whom are wonderful in all the scenes they get.
Iron Man 2 is good, but I can’t escape the feeling the feeling that if it pandered a bit less it could have been great. In the unfolding Iron Man franchise, this wasn’t , but it wasn’t Empire Strikes Back either.
