Iron Man 2: Movie Review

Iron Man 2: Movie Review

Iron Man 2
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johannson, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle, Garry Shandling
Director: Jon Favreau
Iron Man's back - and so is Robert Downey Jr.
Downey Jr stars as Tony Stark, the billionaire weapons manufacturer/ playboy in this sequel which carries on 6 months from the end of the first (which saw Stark reveal to the world he was the man in the mask).
However, that declaration's irritated Russian Ivan Vanko (a heavily tattooed Mickey Rourke) who believes Stark stole the design for the Iron Man suit from his father. So with that in mind, Vanko sets out for revenge.
But Vanko's not the only one who's got designs on Stark - rival Justin Hammer (a brilliant Sam Rockwell) is out to usurp Stark on the business front; a senate enquiry (headed by Garry Shandling nonetheless) is out to strip Stark of the Iron Man suit; and the army's got designs on the suit - for national safety naturally.
And Stark's got even bigger problems because it appears the power source he's using to keep himself alive is fading - and soon, with time running out, both Stark and Iron Man could be no more....
Iron Man 2 boasts some great action sequences and has some pretty impressive gadget tech within Stark's laboratory; that coupled with some scenes of War Machine and Iron Man fighting side by side mean it's destined to become a fan favourite. In fact Favreau's ploughed everything into the action scenes and they're excellently executed - right down to Scarlett Johannson's very impressively choreographed fight scenes.
Downey Jr once again owns the role of Stark - and some sparky scenes with long time love and Stark Industries cohort Pepper Potts (aka Gwyneth Paltrow) really manages to convey an excellent relationship between the pair. There's also a fair amount of humour scattered throughout and in places, the script crackles with great dialogue.
But despite Downey Jr's cocksure swagger, he's nearly eclipsed by Sam Rockwell's brilliant performance as Hammer and a menacing Mickey Rourke who lumbers in the background as Whiplash.

It's just unfortunate that at times, this feels a little crowded and suffers from the Boys and their toys affliction with guns everywhere, explosions and so on. What it leaves you feeling is a little underwhelmed - that said, Iron Man 2 is a good solid action flick, which while sadly lacking in emotional depth at times (and is not as much fun as the first) won't stop you lapping up this blockbuster.