Director: Jon Favreau, Kenneth Branagh?
Writer: Justin Theroux
Starring: RDJ, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke
Being someone who spends most of my life on the internet,
the idea that this movie is awful has been jammed into my cranium like a nail
into a coffin. I feel like we have come to a point as a species, where we are
going to realise that Iron Man 2 is actually rather enjoyable. I feel that if
you are stingy and snobby enough, you can dislike the movie (but you could
dislike anything in that case). If nothing else it’s good fun.
The best part of the movie by far, is the final action sequence. I love fluid action sequences. The final scene of this movie combines fluidity with nonsensical amounts of neon lights and it is amazing. It looks delectable, it sounds incredible and it's impossible to dislike. It seems like something that can’t be argued but Robert Downey Jr is excellent as Tony Stark. I feel that the character is nowhere near as interesting as in the first movie. He is still unpredictable, humourous and enjoyable to watch though.
That being said, there are some scenes in the movie that give half measures of some of the main aspects of the comic book Tony Stark. I am perfectly okay with comic storylines being omitted and altered in movies but it’s just depressing when they try and fail to pay tribute to the comics. One of Stark’s most notable aspects in the comics is his alcoholism. You can almost see the framework of them trying to add it throughout the movie. The blood toxicity device shows this and he gets a little tipsy at his birthday party but the alcoholism is so subtle it is imperceptible. The 'demon in a bottle' would add to the depth of the movie, giving it a cautionary tale vibe but it was only half done. While this problem may only really affect a comic fan, something that perturbs the entire audience is Mickey Rourke. He adds to the already extensive list of evil Russians with questionable Russian accents. He is just a dull character. It could be argued that he is interesting because of his backstory regarding Howard Stark but that is such a tenuous link to intrigue that you forget his backstory after the first twenty minutes.
If you were a fool and took my opinion based on how big each of my paragraphs is, you would think that I detest this movie. As I said in my introduction, people give this movie far too much grief, yes, Mickey Rourke is awful and forgettable and the movie is depressingly Disney-fied for a younger audience but it was a visual and aural treat. It is certainly the least enjoyable of the Iron Man trilogy but it is most definitely not a bad movie.
Recommendation Status: Worth a watch
The best part of the movie by far, is the final action sequence. I love fluid action sequences. The final scene of this movie combines fluidity with nonsensical amounts of neon lights and it is amazing. It looks delectable, it sounds incredible and it's impossible to dislike. It seems like something that can’t be argued but Robert Downey Jr is excellent as Tony Stark. I feel that the character is nowhere near as interesting as in the first movie. He is still unpredictable, humourous and enjoyable to watch though.
That being said, there are some scenes in the movie that give half measures of some of the main aspects of the comic book Tony Stark. I am perfectly okay with comic storylines being omitted and altered in movies but it’s just depressing when they try and fail to pay tribute to the comics. One of Stark’s most notable aspects in the comics is his alcoholism. You can almost see the framework of them trying to add it throughout the movie. The blood toxicity device shows this and he gets a little tipsy at his birthday party but the alcoholism is so subtle it is imperceptible. The 'demon in a bottle' would add to the depth of the movie, giving it a cautionary tale vibe but it was only half done. While this problem may only really affect a comic fan, something that perturbs the entire audience is Mickey Rourke. He adds to the already extensive list of evil Russians with questionable Russian accents. He is just a dull character. It could be argued that he is interesting because of his backstory regarding Howard Stark but that is such a tenuous link to intrigue that you forget his backstory after the first twenty minutes.
If you were a fool and took my opinion based on how big each of my paragraphs is, you would think that I detest this movie. As I said in my introduction, people give this movie far too much grief, yes, Mickey Rourke is awful and forgettable and the movie is depressingly Disney-fied for a younger audience but it was a visual and aural treat. It is certainly the least enjoyable of the Iron Man trilogy but it is most definitely not a bad movie.
Recommendation Status: Worth a watch
Please feel free to leave a comment on either the movie or the review. Say if you liked or disliked the movie. I'm interested to find out what you think!
