“IRON MAN 2”: sharp movie, dull story
Although “Iron Man 2” gives the protagonist Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) a shinier suit and streamlined superhero tools, the story, on the other hand, is in desperate need of a tune up.
“Iron Man 2” is a unique sequel because, for no apparent reason, every aspect of the movie is re-invented. This movie operates in a way that disregards about ninety percent of all that had happened in the original.
Stark’s wit in the original was sharp enough to cut glass with quotable one-liners in almost every scene. In “Iron Man 2,” however, Stark is propelled more by blunt arrogance; his sense of humor quickly burns itself out after the first couple scenes. Robert Downey, Jr. plays this role with such force that at parts of the movie he actually becomes off-putting and some audience members may even say annoying.
At the end of the first “Iron Man,” Stark had a very functional, semi-romantic working relationship with his assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). In “Iron Man 2,” Stark argues constantly with Potts about issues that are only trivial to the audience (such as taking a vacation trip to Venice). If Potts had said “yes,” perhaps Stark would have been able to sit back on a gondola and revive the good humor that made him so entertaining in the previous movie.
In the tradition of breaking with tradition, the movie sequel introduces a new villain, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke). Vanko vows vengeance upon Stark as payback because Stark’s father stiffed Vanko’s father (Stark Industries neglected to pay Ivan’s father for his invention they used). Vanko’s quest for vengeance takes him on the journey that every diabolical genius has traveled before. The only cliché that isn’t used in this sequence is a violent thunderstorm to set the scene for Vanko’s diabolical intentions.
Ironically, the first real threat to Stark’s life isn’t Vanko or his visually spellbinding electric whips, but rather Stark’s own artificial heart. In spite of vocabulary so foreign that it would confuse (and alienate) any science fiction junkie, audience members learn that Stark’s artificial heart is poisoning his blood, go figure. I suppose if such an apparatus were perfectly healthy, everyone would be wearing flashlights in their chests.
The knowledge of his imminent death triggers Stark to go on a bucket list adventure that only a multi-billionaire capitalist with an incredible supply of luck could afford. If racing in the Monaco Grand Prix is dangerous, running into a crazy man with electric whips at a hundred miles an hour should kill; but miraculously, both Stark and Vanko survive their first encounter in perfect health despite all laws of physics and nature. Oh, to be the rich protagonist in a summer action blockbuster movie.
As Stark seeks to cross out items on his “bucket list,” audience members are stricken with a very peculiar feeling of role reversal. Stark’s already soaring ego rises even higher, pushing his character from off-putting to almost megalomaniacal. Conversely, Vanko’s quest for vengeance delivers a genuine feeling that the audience can relate to and root for (well, at least he’s not too arrogant about what he’s doing). During this time, viewers meet another antagonist: Stark’s rival inventor Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). Hammer is truly Stark’s nemesis because he equals Stark’s egomania but he proves to be even more off-putting to the audience. Hammer doesn’t have nearly the wit or charm that Stark possesses and proves to be annoying.
Flying through the air at supersonic speeds to confront a bad guy and saving the super model damsel in distress is only half of what makes a hero a hero, let alone a superhero. In order for Iron Man to prove himself to be a hero rather than a multi-billionaire with a shiny toy, he must possess the lug nuts to endure adversity valiantly.
Stark appears to actually come up a few nuts and bolts short, however, halfway through the film when he completely stoops into an all out depression. Stark falls so low he gives all the other superheroes a bad name (yeah, maybe Batman had his bad days, but you didn’t see him sitting on the corner drinking out of a bag).
The second half of this movie is split into two parts with one being a mystery plot and the other part being a couple explosions above dull.
While the mystery regarding Stark’s race- against-the-clock to repair his artificial heart unfolds, audience members are subjected to poorly constructed lines and situations to help him find his real heart. Apparently he lost it somewhere between the end of the first “Iron Man” movie and the start of “Iron Man 2.”
During this time, Vanko and Hammer, create an army of cybernetic soldiers in order to “make Iron Man look like an antique.” Weirdly, (you must see the movie) Hammer and Vanko’s working relationship suddenly comes to an end when Hammer fails to deliver Vanko’s lab assistant: a cockatiel from Russia.
To his redemption, Tony Stark does finally re-invent himself as Iron Man by developing new equipment and rediscovering his sense of morality; hopefully, this time it sticks. And the movie does have the necessary action scene confrontation employing massive amounts of explosions and visual effects.
“Iron Man 2” is not a horrible movie; however, it pales in comparison to its predecessor. Viewers will get good entertainment value through the explosions and Stark’s halfwit interactions with other characters. For the inevitable “Iron Man 3” to be a success, the next story will have to build off of the momentum of the previous film without doing a massive reinvention of characters and key concepts. To sum up, “Iron Man 2” is two steps forward and one step back, which is more than what I can say for most sequels.
| The Mainstream is a student publication of Umpqua Community College. | About us | Advertising | Archives |