Reay Jespersen

SPOILER WARNING

Iron Man 2 opens by introducing a new villain: Whiplash, aka Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), the son of a just-dead Russian engineer whose work on the arc reactor that powers Iron Man (and indeed, Tony Stark himself) was allegedly stolen by Tony Stark’s father. Vanko sets to work building a powered suit of his own, and hunts down Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to get his revenge. The attempt proves short-lived, and he’s sent to prison.

For his own part, Stark is fending off attempts by the government - spearheaded by weapon design technician competitor to Stark, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) - to obtain the Iron Man technology. Stark has also found out that he’s dying; the arc reactor that replaced his heart is leeching toxins into his body. He wants to keep it quiet from assistant/would-be love interest Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), so transfers control of the Stark empire to her under the pretense of her being able run it more effectively. Enter Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson), the overseer of the legal transfer of the company to Potts’ control, and now assistant to Potts.

Hammer, meanwhile, has faked Vanko’s death in order to spring him from prison and has put Vanko to work on Hammer’s own line of Iron Man-like suits, which Venko turns into robots.

As he faces his own mortality secretly, Stark’s behaviour becomes more erratic and dangerous, finally pushing his friend Lt. Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) to take control of one of the Iron Man suits in order to keep Stark in check. As his downward spiral continues, Stark gets a wake-up call from the past in a recorded message from his father informing Stark that he alone has the key to finding something very important; something that will change the world. And something, as it turns out, that will also save his own life.

Woven into this, we find that Rushman isn’t just a rep from legal who can handle herself in a fight, but is in fact an undercover SHIELD agent working for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

It’s only when Hammer’s robots are put into action at Hammer’s very public product launch that Vanko’s real plan is revealed.

Robert Downey Jr. does a good job in the revised role as Tony Stark, but the subplot of his tailspin of behaviour from knowing of his imminent death didn’t feel like it fit the character as well as it may have. Stark’s life has always been about complete control, so his acting out at losing control over his own life ending too soon makes some sense, but not to the degree he depicts. The result, which borders on too long, comes across as somewhat contrived.

Gwyneth Paltrow was more likable in the first movie, here having far fewer endearing moments, coming across instead as cold and uncaring. Granted, Stark’s unaccountable behaviour pushes her there to a point - to paraphrase her, she’s an assistant trying to run the company that Stark should be running - but it would’ve been nice to see her try to care for him more and distance herself less.

Scarlett Johansson was good, but felt like she was too downplayed. When she finally flies into glorious action during the movie’s climax (the fight choreography for her is quite well done), it’s all too brief a release from the prim and proper - though seductive - guise she’s held.

Don Cheadle’s Rhodes felt less friendly and more official than it perhaps should’ve (and may have, if Terrence Howard had been brought back to revise his performance as the character).

Sam Rockwell was good as Justin Hammer, but the character felt a bit two-dimensional.

Mickey Rourke was the real surprise here, putting on a performance which was not only noteworthy, but at its best, stole the show.

Overall, most performances weren’t what they could’ve/should’ve been, but the core idea of the story, the action, the other subplot of Tony re-discovering a new element as passed down to him by his father - that which will change the world and which literally gives him new life, and notched up presence/relevance of the Avengers all still make for an entertaining movie. It isn’t as good as the first on a number of levels, but is still worth seeing on a big screen by old and (like me) new Iron Man fans alike.

And yes, Virginia, there is a teaser after the credits. Worth sticking around for, though its snippit of a hint may be lost on those not at least passingly familiar with other Avengers.