The Iron Man franchise has returned. And so has the comatose, tongue in cheek humour of Robert Downey Jr, a.k.a. Tony Stark. For we must remember that Iron Man is Robert Downey Jr, nobody else. However, so much for the good bits. As stated in superhero history: “With great power comes great responsibility”. Iron Man, the hero may realise that but somehow here, in the real world, the director and the writers seem to have given that amiss, reveling a bit too much in their past success. The result? A mishmash which looks good in places and falls flat on the face during the middle. In fact, you can mark your watch and just watch the first 40 minutes of the film, take a nap, and wake up in time to watch the last 2o minutes. And you’ll know that you haven’t missed much: the earth still is round, the sun still rises in the east and the film is over… just like that!
Plot:
For a change, here the culprit is not – “I am sorry, we have developed writers block so just go with flow”. There is a decent enough plot. However, it backfires in the sense that it becomes too convoluted. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) has announced that he is Iron Man and is basking in the glory. Here, on the other hand, we see Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) who bears a grudge on Stark because somehow Stark’s family has destroyed Vanko’s family. Vanko’s father Anton dies, which leads Ivan to build a similar arc reactor powered suit to that of Iron Man. Stark meanwhile, has too much on his hands. Senator Stern (Garry Shandling) is busy trying to pin Stark to hand over the Iron Man suit to the US government. Stark refuses, stating he is helping to bring world peace and the technology is not advanced enough to make a similar suit for another 10-20 years. He does this by humiliating his rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) who decides to get back his own by teaming up with Vanko. Hammer wants Vanko to build an army of “Hammeroids”, using the arc reactor technology. Stark also realises that the palladium which is keeping him alive is also killing him by releasing toxins in his blood. He needs to find a substitute element to stay alive. Realising that his stay on earth might be short, he appoints Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) as head of Stark Industries and goes on an erratic behaviour spree which confuses both Pepper and his friend Rhodie (Don Cheadle replacing Terrance Howard in the role). He also has a ravishing new secretary Natalie Rushman/Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) who is actually a S.H.I.E.L.D double agent, preparing a report about Iron Man and Tony Stark’s ability to handle the suit. After meeting Nick Fury (an eye patched Samuel L. Jackson), Stark looks back into his father’s memory trove and finds the model of the 1974 Stark Expo and creates an element to replace palladium through the model. Thus, with his life back on track, he proceeds to set his affairs in order – battling ‘Hammeroids’ with Rhodie, defeating Vanko and starting a romantic relationship with Pepper, who resigns as CEO of Stark Industries. The end credits show a prelude to the Avengers Initiative, with Thor’s hammer shown.
The Glory:
Iron Man 2 is also about reveling in the glory of being Iron Man. The one – liners are wittier, there is more boom and of course, more narcissism. Robert Downey Jr reprises the role of Tony Stark and is at his pompous best. If the first installment left something to be explored in the tongue in cheek persona of Tony Stark, this certainly does not leave any stone unturned. The first 40 minutes are a real treat. This is where the plot builds, showing the viewer the different complication in being Iron Man. There is not a dull moment here. Dramatic tension of Vanko’s avenging plan is glazed with the undercutting, cruel wit of Tony Stark. The scene where Stark defends himself and his right to keep the armor is hilarious. We are also introduced to Tony’s dilemma of finding a way to survive. Justin Hammer thus, vows revenge after a much public humiliation. Vanko comes out with all whips lashing (literally with electric ‘whips’). The viewer is hooked. The build up is great. Scarlett Johansson is introduced as the seductive secretary whose motives remain unknown. You must remember though, all this happens in the first 40 minutes! Then after that, like Stark’s crazy and bizarre behaviour, the film too just loses its focus and goes haywire. It just fizzles out… only to relinquish somewhat in the climax.
The “I have this great build up but I don’t know how to use it moment”
The film almost goes backwards. There is no character development here. Stark goes back to be the pompous self only to redeem himself in the end. Wait! Didn’t that happen already? There is a scene in the beginning between Stark and Vanko which is bone chilling. This is in the prison cell. The way Mickey Rourke mouths his lines is just pure ice. The scene promises a lot – a great premise to the rivalry but surprisingly, that’s all we get to see. There are no more altercations till the climax. Rourke is confined to doing – nothing! What a waste! And don’t get me started on Johansson. Apparently, she is ‘supposed’ to have a mysterious aura about her. However, it would help if the viewer could get to know more about her character to actually care for her. Her antics as ‘Black Widow’ are limited to one fight scene with a whole lot of guards. That’s it! The rest of the time she is just pouting, promising… a promise which remains unfulfilled. Also, the names ‘Whiplash’ and ‘Black Widow’ are never used. The 30 minutes in between are just lost, completely lost.
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