Iron Man 2

Expectations can be troublesome. If you get too hyped up for something then it can only let you down. An example of this; I went to see Springsteen last year (I'm never going to get tired of telling people that) and it was an amazing gig, maybe the best I've seen. But looking at videos of the night on Youtube I found a comment from someone bemoaning the fact that the gig was a let down for them because they'd waited to see him their whole life and it just didn't have the energy of the 70s gigs they've got on CD in the house. You almost pity that poor sod. Best to not get built up about anything, in fact, adapt a negative outlook and everything will end up either meeting or exceeding your expectations. This was the situation I was in with the first Iron Man. I expected nothing of it and ended up only actually seeing it because some mates were going and I couldn't be bothered just sitting about the house. I ended up really enjoying it, and I'd imagine this was how it went for quite a lot of people. There probably weren't many looking forward to it because let's be honest Iron Man just isn't that many people's favourite superhero. Hell, he's not even the most popular powerless billionaire that uses equipment to get the job done. Now we have the sequel and it's no longer a case of being a pleasant surprise. The weight of expectation is upon it, like a big man made of metal standing on your wind pipe.

This may be why Iron Man 2 has had mixed reviews so far, one IMDB poster even compared it to Revenge of the Fallen's level of shiteyness. Well it's a far way off that but there are problems. For one it's went and done the multiple enemy thing, which has so often been the downfall of superhero films. It means the plot's a bit too muddled, although the coming together of the enemies is handled pretty well, as opposed to Sandman and Venom happening to bump into one another in an alley somewhere. There's a lack of any real threat though. Iron Man's pretty invincible and even introducing illness to Tony Stark, easily sorted in the end, or enemies that seem like they could actually do him some damage, just add an equally as powerful sidekick, doesn't change this. See everything gets solved really quickly thanks to really short action scenes. Favreau's just not much of an action director and so he seems to just make with the fight and get it over with as quickly as possible. It was a problem in the first one as well but it was a little more forgiveable then than now. The problem is that he hasn't evolved as a director since the first outing so the same niggles plague this effort. The worst of these is the camera work during the action which has the effect of total confusion as to what's actually being depicted. Plus the designs of the robots and other besuited individuals veer way too close to that of the hero himself adding further to the messiness. Basically that underwhelming muddle of a final fight in the first one is how every fight feels here. You can accept Iron Man taking out some poorly armed middle Eastern terrorists pretty quickly. It's a bit annoying when he manges to batter a guy with laser whips and a whole army of robots with as little effort. The closest thing to doing him in is the customary second act crisis of confidence seen in every post-Spiderman 2 superhero flick, they more than likely pre-date that but it's the best damn example of it. Here at least we get to see Tony drunkenly use the suit to entertain/recklessly endanger party guests.

This is where the film is at its best, the humour and the acting. Robert Downey Jr.'s as much a likeable prick as he was before as Tony and the addition of the ever wonderful Sam Rockwell as the David Cameron to Stark's Tony Blair Justin Hammer is Favreau's best move. He is great as the man who just wants to be Tony but will always be the wannabe. Sadly Don Cheadle and Mickey Rourke are wasted in roles that don't ask much of them and Scarlett Johansson looks great in tight leather so that'll do with regards to her character. Thankfully Gwyneth Paltrow is more fun than she clearly is in real life as Pepper Potts and there's a welcome return for Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury. Of course if you've never bothered to watch to the end of the credits you'll be puzzled by the use of "return". Well get ready to do so again to see a scene that sets up another superhero movie that's coming and acts as one of many pointers to the Avengers film that's currently peaking over the horizon.

Iron Man 2 is an entertaining romp but nothing more. It's got style but eff all substance. It's worth seeing for Robert Downey Jr. and Sam Rockwell firing on all cylinders, shamefully the script and director aren't. It's not entirely Favreau's fault, he was a bit of an odd choice for this franchise and try as he might it's never really going to be his genre of film. Plus the expectations that the first film has created means that ultimately the sequel was always going to be a tad disappointing. Iron Man 2's biggest crime really is that it doesn't really take the series on a level from first time around. One final note, I went to see it with someone who hadn't seen the first one and they loved it. Read into that what you will.