Iron Man 2 holds the place as the most anticipated sequel of the year (though competition for that title wasn’t all that fierce unless you’re a Twilight fan), but it might also be the most disappointing of the summer movie lot, if only because expectations were set so high after the first film. In a lot of ways it resembles Quantum of Solace, the fizzled follow-up to the brilliant Bond reinvention flick, Casino Royale. Instead of feeling like an autonomous sequel that could stand on its own two feet, Iron Man 2 feels like a placeholder meant to cover a lot of exposition that a true sequel would have written off with a creative title sequence, while simultaneously acting as the launching pad for all of the future Marvel-managed projects which might need Iron Man’s earned popularity to hoist them into an equally bright spotlight.
Avengers references abound as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) wrestles with his publicized duality as both a brilliant, billionaire industrialist and self-made superhero. The main plot centers on a grudge running back to his father’s legacy, when Howard Stark (John Slattery) had his money-grubbing colleague deported on the basis of national security, leaving him in Russian exile where he raised his vengeful son Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) and taught him enough about engineering to enable him to construct destructive whips based on the arc reactor technology at the heart of Tony’s Iron Man suits. After an initial run-in with Tony in Monaco, Ivan gets recruited to head up the creation of Iron Man-esque drones by Tony’s rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), ending in a big showdown of men in metal suits wailing on robots.
The film seriously lacks in action beats, something that needed to be increased from the original rather than dialed back. What does hold up is Downey’s pitch-perfect portrayal of Stark, which remains one of the best casting decisions ever made in the comic book movie genre. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as Tony’s assistant/love interest Pepper Potts, with Don Cheadle taking over as Rhodey/War Machine from Terrence Howard. The remainder of the supporting cast (Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Garry Shandling) plays far too large a role for a movie titled “Iron Man 2” and not “Avengers”. The first Iron Man film threw in Jackson as an Easter Egg for those who stuck around after the closing credits, so his inclusion in the sequel was inevitable, but instead of working into it, Writer Justin Theroux and Director Jon Favreau leapt headfirst into the S.H.I.E.L.D. involvement for the second film, and it just chokes the film’s Tony Stark/Iron Man story. With every turn there’s a huge neon sign heralding a future Avengers flick. When thrown in sneakily these things are great, but when they take over the film completely and relegate the Tony Stark story to the background, the film suffers.
The film isn’t as good as its predecessor, and the action sequences are few and far between – making the need to see it in HD significantly reduced. So why buy the Blu-ray?
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Because everything you ever wanted a superhero film to include in its extras has been included.
On the feature disc, along with the main film you have the S.H.I.E.L.D. version of pop-up video with Marvel universe facts popping up throughout the film and then a video-in-video commentary by Favreau. His commentary is decently entertaining as you get to listen to what he thought was happening with plot devices versus how audiences perceived them. He’s an affable commentary personality.
The real meat on this Blu-ray set’s skeleton is on the second disc, which is entirely devoted to extras. There’s a feature-length (and then some) documentary on the creation of Iron Man 2. The 4-part featurette stretches from casting, preparation, stunt work, music, and a focus piece on each of the main stars strung throughout. If you haven’t tired of the overwhelming volume of behind-the-scenes footage after that 4-part monstrosity, there are 6 more featurettes detailing major plot and set pieces from the film. None of these six parts are as long as the four bigger production featurettes, but they do help to explain some of the choices made that would have bewildered diehard Iron Man fans. It won’t necessarily satisfy them, but it gives plenty of insight into why and how these decisions were made. Deleted scenes, extended scenes, and a gag reel (it’s an entertaining cast, so this is a fun reel to watch) are also included, along with profile pieces on the characters in the film, charting their history and development in the Marvel universe.
Finally, the third disc is a DVD and digital copy of the film.
"Iron Man 2" is on sale September 28, 2010 and is rated PG13. Action, Comic Book. Directed by Jon Favreau. Written by Justin Theroux. Starring Clark Gregg, Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Favreau, Mickey Rourke, Robert Downey Jr, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L Jackson, Scarlett Johansson.
