2008’s Iron Man was an absolute smash hit, breaking all of the conventions of the superhero genre and successfully launching the Iron Man brand into the same stratosphere as Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, and Wolverine. It was no surprise that Marvel and Paramount Pictures quickly greenlit plans for Iron Man 2, especially with the groundbreaking convention of the post-credit scene.
 

So it was gargantuan, yet realistic, that people expected the same level of writing from its sequel. And to be clear, the sequel is a solid, entertaining summer blockbuster. However, it lacks the heart and organization that made the first film power up like an arc reactor; focusing too much on building the larger Marvel universe (later to be known as the MCU), retreading on character arcs that have already been accomplished, and under-utilizing its villains. While the film has unique and truly visionary ideas, it failed at fully developing these story concepts in favor of introducing potential new heroes/characters into an already packed film. 

 

But I don’t want to sound like a hater! I’ll start with the areas that excelled in this film– Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle absolutely nail their roles as Tony Stark and Rhodey, respectively. Tony is facing death due to the palladium in his arc reactor poisoning his body, and has resigned to spending the rest of his life partying and living out his desires (such as racing at Monaco, or throwing a rave in his Iron Man suit). Tony is also dealing with Ivan Vanko, the son of Howard Stark’s disgraced partner, who creates an arc reactor as well, and publicly destroys Iron Man’s armor. This causes the world to doubt Iron Man, and his ability to protect the world. All of these issues cause Tony to regress into drinking, causing him to be extremely irresponsible in this film. As a result, this forces Rhodey to act on the behalf of the US government and forcibly take his suit, creating the brand-new War Machine armor. 

 

These are excellent, brilliant plot ideas! Focusing on these solely would help to further develop Tony’s character (which was eventually rectified in Iron Man 3). From facing death, an old family foe, identity crisis, and a hit towards his public relations, Tony’s back was truly against the wall. Seeing him face these issues independently would further enamor the audience with him (though Robert Downey Jr.’s performance was more than enough to achieve this). However… This is where the film gets a bit messy. 

 

Tony’s problems garner the attention of Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) and Natasha Romanoff (played by Scarlett Johannson), resulting in SHIELD assisting Tony. Fury also imparts knowledge about Tony’s father, Howard, that implies that Howard truly did love his son, but struggled with showing it. SHIELD also has hints to other superheroes (such as Phil Coulson using Captain America’s shield to get a machine level, or Thor’s hammer being cameoed in New Mexico). SHIELD’s Avengers’ Initiative is also shoehorned and wrapped up in the span of thirty minutes, with the results of the film’s actions dictating to Fury that Tony is not ready to be an Avenger. As a result, more minutes were given to SHIELD and other Easter Eggs, than developing the characters of Tony, Rhodey, and Ivan- which is painfully obvious. 

 

And then we got Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer that is utilized for comedic effect, which honestly, is a waste. While Mickey Rourke’s Ivan Vanko was menacing, he lacked the story to make his character stand out, and played nothing more than a villain that illustrated to SHIELD that Tony Stark was not invincible. He served his purpose- but we did not know much about the man. 

 

Having Tony regress into alcoholism also shows some character inconsistencies. While it is possible that Tony was too stressed and reverted, having the second film retread the issues of the first, and solve it the exact same way, results in a lot of wasted minutes for the audience. In terms of story, show us something new!

 

However, while the film lacked organization, development, and that deeper, emotional connection, the action and soundtrack was awesome!!!! I mean, a portable armored suit? War Machine and Iron Man teaming up to blow up a ton of drones? Fighting Vanko’s light whips while avoiding being sliced up? The action was excellent, and is testament that sometimes having a solid story… it isn’t necessary. All that’s required is having good characters and a great time, and Iron Man 2 is definitely a blast! 

 

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