Movie Review: Iron Man 2
Image taken from: Amazon.com
I gave it: 3-4 out of 5 Stars
Director: Jon Favreau
I gave it 3-4 Stars because, while Iron Man 2 didn't disappoint, it didn't excel, either. It was exactly what I thought it would be, and nothing more.
The plot was good-I liked how Ivan (the villain) had a reason to hate our Tony Stark, and how those reasons were not only backed up logically, but aided also in fulfilling two secondary plot points: Tony's relationship with his dad, and the arc-reactor(sp) technology keeping Tony alive.
In short, it's clear the writers weren't going blind off the success of the first one--which a lot of sequels are wont to do.
Some good and some bad: The acting was phenomenal, as can be expected of Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson-especially miss Scarlett, who played the drop-dead sexy Black Widow damn well. Although the addition of Don Cheadle to play Lt. Col. Rhodes pissed me off at first, (and threw me, because I'm used to seeing Cheadle in comedic roles) he managed to pull off the character damn well, and maintained the character throughout the film. Go Cheadle!
The combat was, as per the original Iron Man, awesome. The scene where Rhodes and Tony are both in suits, fighting multiple drones (remote controlled suites) in the middle of a Japanese-styled garden, was, simply put: Fucking cool. (Seriously, the choreography was amazing: both Rhodes and Tony are shooting weapon after weapon (machine / Gatling guns, torpedoes, pulse rays, etc) and are totally in sync with each other it's... so fucking cool to watch!)
However, I will reiterate that Iron Man 2 didn't go above and beyond my expectations. I expected good acting, I expected good choreography and a decent plot, and I expected good graphics. And I got that. Woo hoo.
In conclusion I'd say this wildly anticipated sequel is... just another sequel, although still worth a look-see.
Rating Rubric:
1 Star: Oh my god dig my eyes out with red hot pokers now!
2 Star: Poor - poor quality, poor acting, poor story. It's sad that it was made in the first place.
3 Star: Decent. But I wouldn't go out of my way to see it again.
4 Star: Pretty good - good quality, good acting, good story - I'd recommend it.
5 Star: Fucking unbelievably good. Some serious thought and talent was put into this movie; not only will I be seeing it again - I'll buy it, I'll recommend it, and I'll probably have wet dreams about it.