(Director) Jon Favreau(Screenplay) Justin Theroux
(Distributor) Paramount Pictures
Walking out of Iron Man 2 my initial thought was "This is a prime example of a movie script trying to bite off far more than it could chew." Though I did somewhat enjoy the picture I walked out of the theater feeling really unfulfilled. Not in the sense that I couldn't wait for there to be more but more that the movie itself had felt incomplete or not handled properly. A good example being that there wasn't enough time for any sort of real character development on any of the newly introduced characters. A lot of the characters' introductions and stories were so rushed (Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson) that they ended up feeling hollow and cookie cutter. Overall this caused the two and a half hour movie to actually feel very rushed and unorganized. On the other hand you had absolutely wonderful performances by Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. Their chemistry was near perfect and the best moments of the movie were with either of them on screen or together at the same time. It's just too bad that the rest of the cast felt like an afterthought even though it's obvious they weren't meant to be.
The same problem plagued the sub plots in the movie as well. Though the main story was obvious and well put together, all the pieces in-between seemed to fall short. Not because the stories were bad but because there wasn't enough screen time for them. They were either built up into nothing or not built up enough and then shoved in your face (Don Cheadle's characters' sub plot is a perfect example of this). As for the main story; it was quick, easy and interesting enough. There were plenty of laughs and developments to further the story so that you kept wanting to watch. That being said it still seemed to suffer in the same way the rest of the movie did. For example (and without giving away too much), Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) receives a package that is built up pretty heavily to the plot but the contents end up being lackluster. In the same scene there's an emotional moment where Stark has a revelation but the catalyst doesn't make much sense and feels a little rushed. It was the consistent amount of moments like this throughout the movie that caused the frustrating to outweigh the positive.
The action sequences, while a lot better than the first movie, were very few and far apart from another. What's even more disappointing is the entire film sort of builds up to the final encounter between the villain and Iron Man but ends up being extremely anti climatic and lasting just a couple of minutes with no real closure beyond explosions. To me this was one of the most disappointing parts of the film because there's a second villain (Sam Rockwell) who is built up really well and you get some closure with his departure from the screen. But then the main villain just leaves you with a sense of "That's it? You're kidding me, right?" The emotional tension that is grounded throughout the movie is so tense that you're expecting something more than what's delivered. It's this heavy flaw that ruined a lot of the action sequences for me; they came with no emotional backing and felt like a whole lot of nothing.
Overall the movie was entertaining enough but it's really hard to forgive the lack of development within the characters and the sub plots. I'd never watch it again and in a way I feel a little upset spending money on it. If you're a fan of the series I'm sure you'll enjoy it though I have heard a lot of fans comparing it to the disaster that was Spider-Man 3. If you like mindless explosions, empty plot points, inconsistencies, sexy women and superheroes you'll probably enjoy it as well. If you're looking for something thick and juicy that lives up to the hype of many other great superhero movies, you might be disappointed.
