It's upgrade time for Robert Downey Jr.! Jon Favreau's superhero action flick has officially given audiences around the world the sequel many have been dying to see.
Downey returns to put the nuts and bolts back together as Tony Stark/Iron Man when he learns that outing himself as a superhero may be the least of his problems. Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) has designed his own robotic armour with built-in electric whips that are anxious to wrap around Stark's neck. Joining Stark in this adventure is his friend Jimmy Rhodes (Don Cheadle stepping in for Terrence Howard) who dons his own armour this time around as the superhero War Machine.
The film's style is definetely one that reflects that of its predecessor, where the Rock n' Roll attitude could not be more appropriate to this wild roller coaster. Here, the movie analyzes deeper into Stark's troubles, where Downey is able to make him as sympathetic as he can be considered witty. The issue of trust is one he finds himself on the wrong side of when it comes to his friends, when his actions of both the first film and the second catch up with him.
Iron Man 2 is supported by a great cast, with actors like Don Cheadle to provide the audience a very comfortable recasting. New cast members Sam Rockwell and Scarlet Johansson have their share of flare to their roles, but nothing special save for Johansson's stupendous fight scenes. It's from Rourke that the deepest performance is given to the audience. His presence can be both terrifying and sympathetic at times, but remains the most three-dimensional of the franchise's antagonists.
The only problem is that even with a promising cast, many of their story arcs feel undeveloped compared to that of Stark's. They're interwoven to revolve around our protagonist, but their appearances are seldom in the overall focus.
The action scenes definetely hold improvement compared to the first film. Where the aerial dog fights can only be impressive after so many times, Iron Man 2 gives the audience more man-on-man (or in some cases woman-on-men) brawls as well as the larger-than-life superhero variety. It is accompanied by great rock music that will make some of the older crowd members want to start headbanging to the beat along with visual effects that sell this dazzling world.
If not for a major need of cutting back on expanding areas of plot and the scale of characters, Iron Man 2 would deliver even slightly higher than its predecessor. Instead, it remains slightly below it, but is definetely an action movie fans will adore.
RATING: 7/10
-Braydon K
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