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Bookmark this pageIron Man 2 (2010)
Director: Jon Favreau
Movie review
From Time Out London
The ‘X-Men’, ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘Batman’ movies have proven that the second instalment is where a comic-book blockbuster series finds its feet: with all those pesky origin details out of the way, the filmmakers can focus on raising the stakes, deepening the characters and ramping up the action.And for the first 45 minutes or so, this is where ‘Iron Man 2’ looks to be heading. Director Jon Favreau sets the stage for a titanic three-way conflagration as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is under investigation by the US government following the public revelation of his superhero persona, while his arch rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) is scrambling after his technology and mysterious, musclebound Russian physicist Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) is up to unspecified no-good.
The dialogue crackles, the special effects pop and the onscreen action never flags, climaxing with an astonishing multi-car pileup at the Monaco Grand Prix, where Iron Man meets his nemesis Vanko, aka Whiplash, for the first time. So far, so excellent: Favreau builds on the solid foundations of the first movie, and success looks guaranteed. But slowly, imperceptibly, it all starts to fall apart during the remaining hour or so.
A major problem is the number of characters: Downey, Rockwell and Rourke are obviously all enjoying themselves enormously, but the same can’t be said for Don Cheadle as Stark’s redundant buddy-cum-sidekick Rhodes. Nor do the others seem to be having much fun: Gwyneth Paltrow is underused as Stark's assistant-cum-love interest Pepper Potts, while Scarlett Johanssen’s Natalie is slinky but pointless. The less said about a perfunctory appearance from Samuel L Jackson as some sort of shady inter-agency bigwig the better.
As the film plays out, it starts to look likely that all the rumours of reshoots and recuts weren’t just online rabble-rousing. Characters appear and vanish. Seemingly important plot details surface and are swept away. And this feels increasingly like a film which got lost in the edit. Whereas in the first act we jetted from Siberia to Washington to Monaco, the second half is mostly confined to a series of boardrooms, army bases and laboratories. A flat, studio-bound final showdown takes an age to arrive and is over in minutes.
‘Iron Man 2’ is a lot of fun: it’s shiny, likeable and never boring. But it’s also wildly uneven and unnecessarily convoluted, leaving the viewer unsatisfied and hungry for something more substantial. Let’s hope a promised third instalment can fulfil the series’ undeniable potential.
Author: Tom Huddleston
Time Out London Issue 2071: April 29 – May 5, 2010
User reviews of this film
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- Al said...
- Posted on Dec 21 2011 16:29 I'm late to the party, having just seen it for the first time on Blu-ray, and I thought the film was great. The reviewer might not have realized this is part of a multi-film storyline involving the Hulk, Capt. America and Thor films (hence Jackson's appearance) since at the time of release that wasn't overly clear, but I thought everything worked quite well. My only complaint was they cut out the original "You complete me!" version of the skydive opening and there wasn't enough Scarlet Johannson.
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- Kaa said...
- Posted on May 27 2010 17:52 I enjoyed it. Entertaining and fun though not as tight as IM1.
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- Simon Caleb said...
- Posted on May 27 2010 13:07 Overwritten, overly focussed on cyphers and poorly directed SFX by I assume, 2nd unit directors. The balance was way off with too much talk, a bland Don Cheadle shoe horned in to replace a superior Terrance Howard and blink and you'll miss it Iron Man set pieces. Disappointing.
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- MissSherlock said...
- Posted on May 24 2010 22:14 Did anyone else think that this film lacked ironman? In my opinion, it should have been called Everything But IRONMAN, or Tony Stark talks to some foreign people. I think the whole franchise would have been a lot better if they didnt make a sequel. Or just made this one live up to the name.... of Ironman 2
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- Mikey said...
- Posted on May 23 2010 20:13 I got the overwhelming feeling that the target audience of this film was 5-25 year-old lads. Good cast, fairly well acted, but they've all appeared in much better films than this. It's comic book stuff, with good effects, thin storyline, and poor characterisation. I was bored after about 15 mins. An audacious attempt at Audi advertising. (How's that for alliteration? And it is one glorified advert for Audi. Product placement gone mad.) Reconsider going if you possess more than one brain cell.
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- usman latif khawaja said...
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Posted on May 20 2010 08:16
if u must go to cinema these days -im2 is the best of a bad lot -ROBIN HOOD -is a riddled loss and should be re-named the fat slob crook -
it is boring but not half as boring as ROBIN HOOD - Report as inappropriate
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- sdfsdf said...
- Posted on May 19 2010 11:42 wag1
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- TRUTHTELLER said...
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Posted on May 15 2010 14:50
Hilarious!
The film Robin Hood was getting so many bad reviews by paying customers who said it was awful and complained about all the political correctness in the movies that the studio apparently made Timeout remove the whole movie review!!
When they have to censor reviews then you KNOW just how bad their film is!!
Hilarious - Report as inappropriate
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- Pete said...
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Posted on May 14 2010 17:52
Boring!
Take your watch so you can keep checking time because you will want it to end. - Report as inappropriate
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- usman latif khawaja said...
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Posted on May 13 2010 10:56
IMI was humourous and fun -this has a few dazzling action sequences but the morality and ethical angle is a bit intense -
albeit i loved scarlett jhanssen and if u like her go see it -she is stunning to look at and acts better than iron man -nothing compared to part 1 tho - Report as inappropriate
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- Oldbrit said...
- Posted on May 12 2010 20:01 Didn't have quite the impact of the original but a good blockbuster night out with some surprisingly touching moments and clever dialogue.
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- wayne said...
- Posted on May 11 2010 12:48 sorry I meant I kept comparing it to IM one.
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- wayne said...
- Posted on May 11 2010 12:47 Borrrring! I kept clock watchign & comaring it to IM2.
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- steady eddy said...
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Posted on May 10 2010 22:37
Boring, boring, boring! As one other person said - save you money and buy Iron Man 1.
Iran Man 2 is such a waste of money - it really is not worth going to see. - Report as inappropriate
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- Flo said...
- Posted on May 10 2010 16:05 I think the Movie was worth it. It kept me on my seat at the cinemas and certainly i am looking forward to another Iron Man movie; but then again we are not all alike
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Cast & crew
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L Jackson, Clark Gregg, Garry Shandling, Paul Bettany
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Rated: 12A
Duration: 125 mins
UK Release: Apr 30 2010
US Release: May 7 2010
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