I'd like to start by thanking MultiPurposePoni for being incredibly gracious and thoughtful, and inviting me to tag along and see this movie with him. I don't want to take things over the top - and I am certainly not saying this to garner any favoritism, but we hit it off very well and he's got to be one of, if not the absolute coolest person, I've met in a very long time. Thank you again my friend, and I hope to do it again sooner than later.
This is my first review I will have written here, I'd like to add: going into the first viewing, I had only read Brent's review (without the spoilers) - those are the only preconceived notions I had going into the movie, and I do find myself agreeing with him on many of his points. If you're looking for great early reviews, read Brent's and MPP's. I'm not going to give everyone a play by play, because Brent, MPP, and many others have already very successfully done that. So I'm just going to tell you what I liked, what I REALLY liked, and what I didn't like (there's not that much of the latter).
Incidentally, This will establish my style and tone for later reviews if I happen to write any.
I think we're all looking for Iron Man 2 to live up to and/or repeat what IM1 did for us. Well I've gotta say: it succeeds! Where Transformers 2 left us all gasping in disgust at how far it had fallen from the luster of its predecessor, Iron Man 2 holds its head high and shines bright.
Where this movie really shines is in its successful combining of genres: it is especially heavy on the comedy and psychodrama. The crests and troughs of the laughter flow like the blinding yet subtly flickering warm glow of the arc reactor in Tony Stark's chest itself, and that is the true strength and heart of this movie.
Story: I feel no need to give a summary, but the story is very finely crafted and highly tuned, and there is some originality to boot.
We've had yet to see, until now, a superhero publicly outed so blatantly (certainly not by his own choice) -
the ramifications it holds and the intricacies that come along with this plot throughline and the twists and turns are gripping.
The consequences and dilemmas that his (Stark's) egomania and myopia spawn, and his attempt to grasp and deal with the situation make for some very dense drama. There is alot of what comes along with the complexities of capitalistic competition; jealousy, greed, envy, pride; failure, East meets West - old vs. new, the dangers of technology, the power struggle; of course the cliche love story and triangle. There is some well played downplayed political commentary about the millitary industrial complex (as there was in the first), which gives an added dimension. It is a juicy smorgasboard of depth and drama. The film stands well upon its own two feet, but it definitely does spend a whole lot of time setting itself up for a sequel, and its segue into The Avengers. One very strong aspect of the film is that there is alot of previously uncovered ground in this genre.
The cast is profoundly steeped in talent, and any worries you may have had about the new additions will quickly be laid to rest. The reintroductions of the original cast are all executed brilliantly, as are the new additions.
RDJ: This guy is living the dream, and he wears it on his sleeve. There is not much more to say than he has become Tony Stark. He loves the gig, he loves that we love the gig, and he loves that we love him loving the gig. 5/5
Rourke: The barrel chested beast of a man behind that meaty mask of a face - and big meaty acting chops to match - solidifies his successful return to critical acclaim, big budgets, and the A list in Hollywood with this haunting and wicked portrayal of Stark's nemesis. His evilness jumps off the screen and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. An undeniably remarkable performance from this living legend. 5/5
Rockwell: He is one of this generation's finest actors, and he steals every scene he's in. He endows the character with an extremely human quality, and even though he lies, and schemes, and cheats, and steals, you still feel sad for him and want to try and like him. This is definitely the highlight performance out of the new cast, and in many other actors' hands it could have been completely botched. I would go so far as to say that he would indeed have made a good Iron Man himself. I could spend the whole review praising Sam Rockwell's performance, because it's simply a showstealer. 5/5
Cheadle: What you see of Cheadle you enjoy, but there's not a whole lot of him.
He does pull a BIG TIME double cross, which has the effect of making you despise the character for the better part of the film, but as you'd expect he redeems himself in the end. As far as all the fuss surrounding the Cheadle/Howard switcharoo is concerned, you'd never even notice the difference. Unfortunately he doesn't get enough face time to put in a super high quality performance. 4/5
Gwynneth: She is beautiful, elegant, and SICK (as in ill) lol. But all I could think was "wow she looks pretty great for being sick".
I can't for the life of me imagine why anyone would say anything negative about her at all. She does a great job, and her chemistry with Scarlett adds a new dimension to both of their characters. It makes the picture even more fun to watch, and is just plain entertaining. 4.5/5
Scarlet: The little Black Widow that could; she's gorgeous, she's sharp as a tack, and she'll have you on your back, in two seconds flat.
I think this is a crucial role, and the movie would've been very different, very possibly in a negative way, if someone else would have been cast.
I'm not going to speculate on that, but she's an extremely competent and capable actress and she does a beautiful job (literally and figuratively) in her portrayal of the Black Widow (although ironically, that aspect of her character is massively underplayed leaving something to be desired and showcased in later films). 4.5/5
Samuel L. Jackson: as Ultimate Nick Fury: With what we've come to expect from Sam Jackson, unfortunately, his performance left a whole lot to be desired. Although, I don't find it a coincidence we're introduced to his character and they meet up in a diner (possibly an homage to Pulp Fiction). MPP and I joked this is definitely not the "Bad Ass Mofo" we're all used to and expecting.
This is more like the guy who has "I love Randy's doughnuts" on his wallet. Fortunately, there will be time for the character to develop over the coming movies, so I wouldn't worry too much. 2/5
Other standouts were:
Jon Favreau aka "Happy Hogan": He's novel, and funny, and probably well deserved, but not really needed. 3/5
Stan Lee cameo!: it's definitely one of the best. It comes at a time when you're not so much expecting it, not to mention on the heels of the whole ridiculous and hillarious Larry King sex scandal.
There is something about the way it's edited and put together that makes it utterly hillarious - GREAT comedic timing.
Agent Colson: It's a small cameo, but it's hillarious and well timed and very memorable.
Gary Shandling: Quite a memorable and funny cameo. Where has this guy been? Still seems like the same ole Gary Shandling I used to watch on HBO when I was like 13. Good stuff.
The CG: The visuals in this film are very well balanced. As I said earlier, this is not Transformers - this is not just "let's spend 9/10ths of the budget on CG because we can!". The main emphasis is placed on character driven acting, so the majority of screentime is dedicated to this, but just when you think you're maybe watching a rom-com, here comes a 7' tall 500 lb.
robot with lazer whips flailing about, cutting heavy machinery in half.
It's well balanced and tastefully blended - no ridiculous fights on tops of nuclear reactors against a backdrop of video game clouds, or the like.
The music: I was a little bit dissapointed not to hear more of a variety of rocking tunes, considering the tremendous potential potential that existed, and cbms like Watchmen have since demonstrated. As we expected, there's more than enough AC/DC to go around, although it is very well placed and the cues often sell a scene. I was pretty impressed at the in between scoring and ambient sounds on this one. It's a bit more intricate, and varied than the original.
The only thing period that you maybe could say's holding the movie back, and many many people will be and are being dissapointed by, is the final battle. It is admittedly somewhat anticlimactic. BUT if you can get over the whole "I want a big fireworks grand finaly at the end!" mentality, you will come to accept and respect what is a very well balanced third act and final scene. Where the real crescendo of the end comes is in the form of humor, as arguably the biggest joke of the movie is payed off smack dab in the middle of the final battle scene - it catches you off guard, and you're not quite expecting it. It is Favreau back in "Elf" mode, which is what he does best. If you have any sense of humor whatsoever, it will have you (as well as the rest of the theatre) in absolute stitches. I view the movie having ended with a bang (or again lack thereof), but in the humor department more than action. That's why it seems so well balanced to me though, because believe me, there is also some MASSIVE action -
the movie is just so consistently well paced, you're kind of expecting more.
When all is said and done, I think a fair analysis of the picture is that 1. There was ALOT of material to fit in, and they couldn't possibly do it all.
2. It IS, dare I say, "Spiderman 3 done right" - There are so many old and new characters to juggle and integrate that a fine line had to be walked. And unlike Spiderman 3, which tried this and failed miserably, Iron Man 2 pulled it off. Definitely have to credit Favreau, RDJ, and Justin Thoreaux for this (and probably Kevin Feige a bit also). 3. It is a massive MASSIVE setup to Iron Man 3, Captain America, Thor, and The Avengers; just the amount of screentime dedicated to this process, is a fair portion of its running time - and many of the design elements. So the true "fanboys" should be happy for this.
After the movie, MPP and I sat down and shared our thoughts as to what we liked, disliked, and what the easter eggs in the movie hinted at.
We both thought it was incredibly well balanced, terrifically acted, and agreed if it has any short comings - they are primarily Samuel L. Jackson's performance (or lack therof), and that, in fact, the movie is so very well done, we could easily sit through twice the running time and not be bored. In short, We wanted more!!!
Now on the Easter eggs, it was great to have MPP with me to help point them out, because literally if you blink you'll miss some of them. Mainly, he and I agree that the "new element" Stark creates is itself or will become a component of vibranium (as its sound effect warbled and "vibrated" - MPP pointed out very cleverly to me very), and that the meaning of the bookend is Thor's hammer "the Mjolnir", having fallen to Earth (probably through the "rainbow bridge") and created a meteor crater. Right off the bat it's cleverly established that alot of Thor is going to take place in New Mexico. Thor is not necessarily in the picture yet, per say, but undoubtedly it's a very direct hint at things to come. As you have no doubt read by now in numerous places, Stark also has a "Captain America" comic book in his "dad's treasure box", and he uses what appears to be a work in progress shield to level up his homemade atom smasher or "cyclotron" he makes in his basement (lol). The demon in the Bottle story line is "uncorked", Tony gets the girl, and the Ten Rings hits closer to home with a guard sporting a tattoo on his neck and later referenced in the credits, again hinting at things to come.
Certainly not to toot my own horn, but as I had expected and in recent days speculated upon: it appears the Marvel movie universe will indeed be using Tony Stark as a filter for exposition, or a "consultant" as he is referred to by Fury. It's my opinion that some of you are going to be outraged by the direction the Marvel movies eventually take, but some of you are going to love it. As is the usual.
One thing's for sure - With Iron Man 3, Marvel sure does seem to still be on the right track and building steam.
This is THE MOVIE OF THE SEASON - certainly the best cbm since Watchmen, and everything I wanted in a sequel to IM. Again, the only negatives are that Nick Fury is a little weak, the final battle could have been a LITTLE more intense, and the movie is so entertaining I wish there was more of it (but to be fair that's not a real negative). See it, see it, see it!
5 out of 5