Box Office Back Issues: Iron Man 2 (2010)

Box Office Back Issues is a new feature here at the Movies Section of NerdSpan, where we revisit the previous installments in a comic movie franchise in anticipation of the next adventure–a rummage through the metaphorical movie longbox.

There’s a generally acknowledged maxim about action-movie franchises–superhero movies in particular–which says that the third movie in a series represents a kind of stumbling point. Usually following a second film that is often breathlessly hailed as being even better than the first (Superman II, Spider-Man 2, The Dark Knight), the third movie is more often than not seen as the victim of unusually high expectations and a desire to top the previous instalments. Iron Man 2 seems to have skipped the heavenly second-movie praise that is characteristic of its subgenre and cruised right on into its big disappointment. Coming as it did so early in the development of the Marvel Studios empire, the underwhelming sequel spelled trouble for future film prospects. However, after the successes of Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Avengers, one hopes that the Iron Man series has gotten its weakest chapter out of its system, and that the upcoming Iron Man 3 can be the series high point in its place.

Picking up some time after the 2008 original, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr., slipping effortlessly back into the role) appears at the opening of the new Stark Expo in full armored regalia, and we’re told that his presence has somehow allowed America to enjoy a period of unparalleled peace. We’re never told exactly how this was achieved, and a lot of what follows centres around characters wondering if Iron Man can protect the country anymore (as though his presence had caused foreign aggressors and the US military alike to just shrivel up and blow away). Stark is called before a congressional hearing by a dubious Senator (a puffy-faced Garry Shandling) who demands that the industrialist turn over his weaponized suit. Stark refuses, causing a rift between himself and his Air Force buddy James Rhodes (Don Cheadle, replacing the original film’s Terrence Howard). Meanwhile, a vengeful Russian genius named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) prepares a high-tech attack on Stark in Monaco, utilizing a power source that is suspiciously similar to Tony’s arc reactor (which, unbeknownst to everyone but himself, may be slowly poisoning him). On top of all that, rival industrialist Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) has his sights set on Stark’s military contracts, and is willing to make an unholy alliance with Vanko to get them.

Written by Justin Theroux, Iron Man 2 races in several directions at once; in addition to the various plot points listed above, Tony also clashes with Stark Industries’ newly-installed CEO Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) over the direction of the company, defends his position as a superhero to spymaster Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and wrestles with his own daddy issues (Howard Stark appears in old-timey filmstrips, played by Mad Men‘s John Slattery). That’s a lot of story to pack into a two-hour movie, and very little of it is handled well. Somewhere along the way, director Jon Favreau forgot he was making an action movie–the film only contains three big set pieces, and two of them are pretty short (the final battle, involving Iron Man, Rhodes’ newly-minted superhero War Machine, and an army of robotic drones, is impressive, but by then it’s far too late). Most of the screen time is given over to the talented but directionless cast talking over one another in a way that was fresh and fun in the first film, but tiresome here. Rourke’s bizarre, bird-obsessed performance is distracting, and the film’s portrayal of Rockwell’s Justin Hammer as an evil version of Tony Stark just feels redundant. Even the film’s well-meaning nods to its comic book sources–Iron Man’s suitcase armor, Tony’s drinking problem–aren’t enough to overcome the problems with the script. The subplot about Fury and the Black Widow considering Stark for inclusion in the still-assembling Avengers bogs down an already murky storyline, and it reveals the studio’s uncertainty in piecing together their superhero universe. Thankfully, with the benefit of hindsight, we know that everything turned out well for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but even that knowledge doesn’t keep Iron Man 2 from being the weak spot in the series’ armor.

 

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