It’s that time of year again. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and, at least on the silver screen, everything seems to be rigged with a stick of dynamite.
With explosions abound, “Iron Man 2” manages to fix the main problem I had with the first movie, which was its slow ramp-up time. The unfortunate thing about the first “Iron Man” was the movie didn’t really start until about an hour in.
“Iron Man 2” deftly resolves that problem by introducing explosions into the equation right off the bat, in the hopes of quickly drawing in the audience. It worked, and the explosions continue in a fashion that would make Michael Bay have an embarrassing situation in his pants.
But this movie is far from perfect. While the acting is, for the most part, spot on, character development outside of Tony Stark/Iron Man fall a bit flat, especially for the main villain Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke.
Vanko begins the film as an interesting villain with a father who has a mysterious connection to Stark. What could have provided an interesting story element is quickly stamped out and relegated to a simple case of, “The Russian scientist just wanted money, and the American scientist didn’t like that.”
Fortunately there is enough action to make up for a less than stellar storyline. If something is not actively exploding in this movie, it either already exploded, or it is making something else explode.
Despite the narrative’s shortcomings, “Iron Man 2” still stays entertaining thanks in part to Downey Jr.’s ability to maintain believable wit throughout as well as the film’s spectacular special effects.
“Iron Man 2” is a bit like a Golden Retriever. It’s big and it’s a bit stupid, but despite its shortcomings it still manages to entertain.
“Iron Man 2” won’t change your life, but it certainly will make two hours of your life a bit more entertaining.
Contact Troy Patton at [email protected]