Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark in Iron Man 2.
Weapons of mass entertainment
Iron Man 2 opens as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) comes out of the closet to the world…as Iron Man. Ever since the days chronicled in Iron Man the world has been a much safer place, and Stark has no qualms about reaping the egotistical benefits of outing himself as the world’s savior (unlike most superheroes who prefer to remain masked and anonymous). Stark is a very strange breed of hero indeed -- he profits as a war-mongering defense contractor by day but he purports to be the great peacekeeper of the world by night.
There is a sentiment here that romantically harkens back to the advent of the nuclear bomb: if one country owns the most powerful weapon in the world then peace will prevail forever but if other countries (we’re looking at you, Russia!) get their grubby little mittens on their own weapons of mass destruction then the world will fall apart (history not withstanding). The United States Senate -- led by the oh so swarmy Senator Stern (Gary Shandling) -- decides that they need to own Stark’s Iron Man technology before other countries are able to successfully manufacture their own. (National defense is not something any good Republican, Libertarian or Democrat for that matter is interested in privatizing.) To prove that point -- we have already been introduced to a scarred and tattooed Russian, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), who proves to be well on his way to making his very own Iron Man weapon.
When Iron Man finally has his first run-in with Vanko, he gets his ass-kicked…but he still manages to prevail as the winner. Vanko is prudently ushered off to prison; but Stark’s oh so cheesy competition in the defense contractor biz, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), sees a great deal of potential in Vanko, so he covertly breaks Vanko out of prison and hires him as his lead designer of a competing Iron Man suit.
I should probably also mention that Stark is rapidly approaching his death; not, however, because of plethora of villains introduced thus far, but because his body is being contaminated by the very same technology that saved his life. If Stark does not invent a new power source soon, he will die. And time keeps on ticking…
To add to his problems, Stark’s once loyal military pal, Lt. Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle, replacing Terrence Howard from Iron Man), seems to be turning against him. “Rhodey” even goes as far as stealing one of Stark’s many Iron Man suits, which he quickly “upgrades” by attaching a shit-ton of Hammer’s artillery. Making matters even more convoluted, the eye-patched Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and the hourglass-shaped Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) pop into the picture representing a covert superhero squad called S.H.I.E.L.D. (The only apparent purpose of Nick Fury and Black Widow’s appearances, as well as the post-credits scene, is to allude to the possibility of an Avengers film.)
Something I would usually intend as praise for a Hollywood action film, Iron Man 2 surprisingly opts to concentrate more on plot and dialogue than action. But no matter how much time writer Justin Theroux and director Jon Favreau dedicate to the plot, there just are not enough hours in a day to clarify this befuddling mess. There are just far too many villains and subplots for any of the content to be properly communicated. There are at least two or three viable films here. Even the film’s two, yes two, climaxes –- Stark’s discovery of a new power source and Iron Man’s final battle with Vanko –- are quite anti-climatic.
The casting, though, is top-notch. Downey Jr. is, once again, excellent as the narcissistic hero and Gwyneth Paltrow reprises her role as Stark’s always loyal lap dog (though this time she is given a little more bark and bite); Cheadle, Jackson, Johansson, Rourke and Rockwell are all perfectly cast but frustratingly under-utilized. If this film has anything going for it, it is the acting and the dialogue; but Iron Man 2 would have probably been a much better film with half the cast.
And, like Tony Stark himself, it is difficult to tell if Iron Man 2 stands behind peace or violence. No matter how ridiculous the rival defense contractors (Stark and Hammer) and Senator Stern appear to be, Iron Man 2 never attempts to prove their opinions or motives wrong. If anything, Iron Man 2 seems to exist as justification for the United States to play global peacekeeper and for more money to be invested into all-powerful weaponry. If I didn’t know any better, I would guess that Theroux and Favreau are actually trying to say that if the United States were the sole owners of weapons of mass destruction then the world would be a much more peaceful place. (That said; it is very difficult to believe that the Clash would allow not one but two of their songs --“Should I Stay or Should I Go?” and “Magnificent Seven” --on the Iron Man 2 soundtrack.) Like the film’s two statuesque dames who truly are blasts from cinema’s past, the story harkens back to the red scare mentality of Stan Lee’s original cold war Marvel comic.
