Iron Man 2 (2010)

As another season of summer blockbusters prepares to launch, Iron Man 2 stands poised to rocket into the box-office stratosphere. Armed with bigger explosions, more CGI effects, and a larger supporting cast, it aims to deliver enough raw firepower to subdue even the most finicky member of the iPod generation. And while it certainly manages to fly rings around a superhero film like, say, Superman Returns, attempting to live up to the maxim that “bigger is better” can be both a blessing and a curse.

The movie begins with our swaggering hero, part-time genius and full-time playboy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), under siege. The U.S. government wants his Iron Man armor, because Uncle Sam (in the form of a senator played by Garry Shandling) is unwilling to put the future of the nation in the hands of a lone forty-something businessman. Weapons designer and business rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) sees a potential Stark fall from grace as a way to secure even juicier military contracts. And then there’s beefed-up Russian scientist and ex-con Ivan Vanko (played with menacing relish by Mickey Rourke), who wants revenge for the perceived betrayal of his father by the elder Stark. Even old pal Lt. Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard) presents a problem, especially after he witnesses one too many episodes of his friend behaving irresponsibly. Fortunately for our hero, there’s a wide-ranging cast of characters willing to stick their necks out for him, including long-suffering assistant and potential love interest Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), bodyguard Happy Hogan (director John Favreau), SHIELD director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and the new girl from Stark’s legal department(Scarlett Johansson) who speaks dead languages and demonstrates a suspicious knowledge of the martial arts.

And did I mention that the energy source that’s keeping Stark alive is also slowly killing him? If there’s any truth to this film (or the Batman franchise), being a billionaire is a lot harder that I would’ve thought.

One listen to the film’s soundtrack should indicate the energetic ambitions of the sequel, as it features nothing but power chord-fueled AC/DC tunes. The same goes for the music actually used in the film, although younger viewers may be hard-pressed to identify them by title. While the audio department is adequately covered, Iron Man 2 comes up short on the action side of things. There’s plenty of it, of course, but all the computer-generated mayhem fails to distinguish the film from its predecessor. Even the presence of the high-caliber, tricked-out War Machine (piloted by Rhodes) can’t elevate events above routine. We saw it all before in 2008, and it was better the first time around.

Downey Jr. once again lays on the charm as Stark, but his cracking wise wears thin as the film trudges along past a number of distracting plot points such as the discovery of a new element to keep his bum ticker from winding down. There’s also too much time devoted to Nick Fury and SHIELD, although this is an obvious device to bridge the gap between Iron Man 2 and 2012′s The Avengers (of which Stark will be a part). Such attention is paid to overwhelming the protagonist that the film often succeeds in doing the same to the audience.

But Downey does get to demonstrate his versatility as an actor, and these moments shine through when the crumbling buildings and discharging repulsor rays are noticeably absent. Whether he’s pondering his declining health or reflecting upon the legacy of Stark Industries, Downey’s expressive face manages to speak volumes without any glib dialogue intruding. In fact, the most powerful scene–and the most telling–comes as Stark watches previously unseen footage of his late father. With junior in the foreground and senior in the background, director Favreau slyly establishes a symmetry between the two great men, showing the weight of genius and dropping subtle hints about the alcoholism that plagued Tony in the comics and which is sure to pop up in the inevitable third film (assuming, of course, that the studio doesn’t decide to reboot the franchise and put him in high school).

But while he does look dapper in a suit, it’s not Downey who dominates the spotlight in this installment. That honor belongs to Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, a sycophantic hack who serves as a kind of anti-Stark. Whether dancing across a stage in an attempt to mimic his rival’s ability to work a crowd or unwisely joining forces with the metal-toothed Vanko, Hammer’s the guy at the party who wants everyone to think he’s the coolest guy in the room. He’s not, of course, and it’s painfully obvious to everyone except himself. Rockwell plays the role just right, and it’s yet another example of why he’s one of the most talented performers working today. It’s too bad he and Downey didn’t share more screen time together, although the scenes between Rockwell and Rourke possess a quirky vibe all their own.

The performances aren’t the problem: it’s everything else. From unresolved elements such as Rhodes essentially stealing a suit of his friend’s armor and getting away with it, to indigestible chunks of unnecessary exposition, the film gets bogged down under the weight of far too many challenges for the title character. While it misses the mark as a potentially great superhero film, Iron Man 2 still provides enough strong characterization to be worth recommending. Next time around, let’s hope the franchise undergoes a few minor recalibrations to the script before blasting into local multiplexes.

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