The Man in the Iron Everything Returns

A couple of years ago, Jon Favreau delivered the pseudo sleeper Iron Man, starring former-Bad Boy-of-Hollywood Robert Downey Jr.

The movie was such a critical and commercial hit, it (so obviously) spawned a long-awaited sequel before opening weekend was up, which brings us to today, the day Iron Man 2 arrives in theaters to kick off the 2010 blockbuster season.

Summer is officially here.

Unfortunately, this Justin Theroux-penned sequel doesn’t really measure up to the original. It’s good, but it’s not as good or better. I think that’s because the stakes were just so high for this one. The expectation was that it would pull a Spider-Man 2 and surpass its predecessor, but it doesn’t, and that’s why some will pan it. It’s still a tremendous piece of entertainment, but it’s a bit unpolished. The element of bewildering surprise is gone, and you can see the kinks in the script’s armor.

The main problem with Iron Man 2 is it takes too long to take off. With the original Favreau put us in the thick of the action right away, but with this one, he fuzzes with clumsy, too-long exposition.

We meet Mickey Rourke’s villainous character, the vengeful Ivan Vanko, the man who will become Whiplash. (The guy’s the disgruntled son of a Russian inventor, a former associate of our hero’s father. Yep – this one has daddy issues….)

We see Downey’s grand and grandiose, cocky, smart-alecky billionaire Tony Stark attend the annual Stark Expo to sing his suited alter ego’s praises and bask in some fan loving.

We see him testify – Stark-style – before a congressional panel on security and let everyone there know he controls Iron Man and the government can’t have it.

Oh, and we are told/shown that Tony’s not doing so great, health-wise – the suit is taking a toll on him…and he remains just a man, albeit super-charged one but a man nonetheless. (This plot point, which explores how Stark’s dealing with his newfound rock star status, was dear to the powers that be and is very meta.)

All this happens in the space of, what, 15-20 minutes. It’s all very talky-spastic. It’s like, blow som’in’ up, already. Which they do – the Monaco racetrack scene teased in the trailer is cued in just in time.

But then there’s more talking…and doing of things, yet not enough action, and certainly not enough of that cool irreverent humor that made Iron Man enjoyable. Most of the laughs Iron Man 2 elicited were forced – I found myself trying to reference them to something, anything that would make them work.

Lest you think it, though, I did like Iron Man 2 – I just wish I hadn’t had to wait for about two thirds of the movie to see everything that I loved about the first one really happen on screen. That is, see our hero kick a--!

Downey’s still the man as Tony Stark – he wears the role with such gusto, and his portrayal of man on a downward spiral comes from a place of genuine angst.

Plus, the movie cleverly expands Gwyneth Paltrow’s role as “Pepper” Potts, Tony’s trusty right-hand woman, which means we get to see more of the pair’s delicious sexual tension. More Paltrow – looking hottah than evah thanks to her GOOP-approved regimen for the movie – is more Paltrow to love, IMHO.

Newcomers to the cast include Don Cheadle, matter-of-factly taking over for Terrence Howard in the role of Tony’s BFF, Lt. Col. James Rhodes, soon to be known as War Machine; and Scarlett Johansson as Tony’s slinky new assistant, a young lady who’s not who or what she seems (and who I hope we’ll see again as Marvel fleshes out its plan for a superhero bonanza franchise).

Iron Man 2 really is the perfect movie to kick off the summer season, but it is not nearly as near-perfect as the original.

Louder does not better make, and longer only invites abruptness in, especially in the end. (Nice tag after the credits, though.)

My Rating ***

Photo: Paramount Pictures.