At the Movies: Iron Man 2

Overall: 8.5

I had an extremely good time watching this movie. Perhaps it's not quite as good as the first (which I feel might've been a feature if we'd been keeping this blog back then), but it's pretty darned close - and certainly worth the ten bucks.



Plot Synopsis:

Six months after the end of the first movie, Tony Stark, in his capacity as Iron Man, has ushered in a period of unprecedented peace -- and publicly, he's pretty cocky about it, too. When he is pulled away from the Stark Expo to attend a Senate committee hearing at which Senator Stern demands that the Iron Man armor be turned over to the U.S. government, Stark points out that no one else is even close to mastering the technology, gloats about privatizing world peace, and essentially gives the Senate committee the middle finger.

Privately, however, Stark knows the palladium core in his arc reactor is gradually poisoning him, and as he has not yet been able to find a viable substitute element, he believes his death is certain. He makes arrangements for Pepper Potts to take over as CEO of Stark Industries and proceeds to enjoy a life of total dissipation.

Without informing Pepper, Stark hops into a race car in Monaco. During the race, Stark and the other drivers are attacked by a man armed with his own arc reactor and whip-like energy weapons. This man is Ivan Vanko, son of Anton Vanko; Anton collaborated with Howard Stark on the construction of the first arc reactor before the elder Stark had him deported to the Soviet Union. Ivan holds the Stark family responsible for the downfall of his family and is eager to exact his revenge. Fortunately, Pepper and Happy manage to deliver the Iron Man armor to Stark, and Ivan is defeated and apprehended.

Ivan's terrifying display, however, has attracted the attention of Justin Hammer, one of Stark's rivals. Hammer breaks Ivan out of jail and offers to give the Russian anything he likes so long as he helps Hammer show Stark up at the Expo. Ivan has his own ideas, though. Using Hammer's resources, he builds an army of killer drones and shores up his own armor.

Meanwhile, as the press starts to attack Stark for failing to foresee Ivan's appearance, Stark continues his downward slide. At what he believes will be his last birthday bash, Stark dons the Iron Man armor and gets falling down drunk. Disgusted, Rhodey puts on Stark's silver armor and tries to - er - convince Stark to end the party. One blown up residence later, Rhodey flies off with the silver armor and delivers it to the military. The military subsequently hands the armor to Hammer for "adjustments."

The following day, Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., meets with Stark. He reveals that "Natalie from Legal" is really Natasha Romanoff of S.H.I.E.L.D. and that Howard Stark was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders. Fury gives Stark a box full of some of his father's things and tells Stark he is not to leave his residence until he sorts himself out. Eventually, Stark figures out that his father hid a diagram of a new element within a diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo. Throwing together a makeshift particle accelerator, he synthesizes this new element and cures his poisoning.

Then Ivan Vanko calls Stark and informs him that he will soon be exacting his revenge. Stark rushes to the Expo, where Hammer is just then revealing Ivan's new military drones, which are captained by Rhodey in the now modified silver armor. When Stark arrives at the stage, Ivan takes control of both the drones and Rhodey's armor and sets them to attack Stark. Chaos ensues. Happy and Natasha head to Hammer's Queens facility in an attempt to track down Ivan, but by the time they manage to fight their way through the security details, they discover that Ivan has already left. Fortunately, though, they are able to return control of the silver armor to Rhodey, who then teams up with Stark to take out Ivan's drones.

Then Ivan himself arrives in his refurbished armor. Another battle erupts, but Rhodey and Stark manage to disable Ivan by firing their repulsor rays at each other and triggering an explosion similar to the explosion that destroyed a good portion of Stark's residence earlier in the movie. Before he dies, Ivan activates the self-destruct devices on all of his creations, and Stark has to whisk Pepper away to a nearby roof. They kiss while Rhodey looks on. It is decided then that Stark will once again take over as CEO of Stark Industries.

Writing: 9.0

Rest assured, Iron Man fans: the Stark brand of humor is kept completely intact in this second installment. Even the insertion of a little impending-death-related angst in no way dilutes Stark's boastful, women-ogling, fast-living ways. It's just too bad we can't really do highlights for theater releases, as there are many moments in this movie that are absolutely hilarious. Even Mom laughed in several places, and she's never really struck me as a big fan of the superhero genre. Sure - as Mom remarked last night, you certainly wouldn't want to live with the guy - and you probably shouldn't emulate him either. But it is extraordinarily entertaining to watch Tony Stark exasperate just about everyone around him with his take-no-prisoners braggadocio and self-absorption. I love, for example, Stark's response when Pepper reminds him that she's deathly allergic to strawberries (after, naturally, he has just bought strawberries for her from a roadside vendor): "See! I'm getting better! I knew there was a correlation between you and strawberries." (LOL!)

I suppose the only element of the movie I consider rather underwritten is the matter of Rhodey's temporary defection; I feel that is treated a little too cavalierly to really be credible from a human standpoint. On the other hand, we are also treated to one surprisingly touching moment with Howard Stark (I actually feel a bit of a lump in my throat when Howard calls his son his greatest creation), and the supporting players all get their moments in the sun. (I especially like Happy's pride when he finally knocks out that one security guard -- after, of course, Natasha has already subdued the rest. Hee.) So, on balance, this is a fantastic script for the genre. I don't find it bloated or over-packed in the least.

Acting: 8.5

There's no real Oscar-worthy performances here - but again, for the genre, what's delivered is pretty outstanding. I especially love me some Robert Downey Jr. RDJ is Tony Stark, people; he even gets the angsty moments right. Thank goodness the man matured, got his act together, and found his real niche in the business (which apparently involves playing hyperactive, arrogant, FUN sons of bitches).

Message: 8.0

This is not a profound movie - but I think Doc Zero at Hot Air puts it rather well when he calls Tony Stark "one of the most unambiguously libertarian figures in popular culture."

The appeal of Iron Man is not to be found in an explicit theme but in an attitude. Tony Stark is brilliant and fabulously wealthy - and he doesn't apologize for it. As a matter of fact, when the Senate tries to declare Stark's invention public property (with, naturally, the backing of one of Stark's chief competitors), Stark tells Senator Stern to pound sand with great relish. As far as Stark's concerned, the Iron Man armor is his intellectual property - and he certainly isn't going to turn his property over to the care of the nanny state. Hell no! Moreover, as other conservative reviewers have noted, Stark is an icon of cultural confidence. He doesn't worry about offending the enemies of peace and democracy; instead, in the words of Doc Zero, he "busts out repulsor beams and micro-missiles" and "takes out the trash." In an industry obsessed with putting out movies that demonize capitalism, individualism and patriotism, Iron Man is, in essence, like a breath of fresh air.