Ironman 2
If you have read the Ironman comic books you’ll know Tony Stark’s history and how Whiplash came to be. For those of you who haven’t, it doesn’t matter because the film delivers the story well. Without over doing it, director Jon Favreau mangages to incorporate elements of the original story, new characters and brilliant actions sequences perfectly.
Is there too much dialogue then? No. And the dialogue that there is not overdone or drawn out, but delves more into the background of the characters and incorporates the soon to be main link between all Marvel films: S.H.I.E.L.D. The narrative also explores Stark’s background more than its predocessor, but doesn’t allow it to overshadow the gripping action scenes or the introduction of the new villain Whiplash.
So are there too many new characters? As well as introducing Samuel Jackson more as Nick Fury and allowing him to bring his trademark feel to the role, the film also introduces us to Black Widow and Whiplash.
Mickey Rourke is excellent as Russian physicist Ivan Vanko who is hell bent on revenge on the Stark name. He makes the role his own and his on screen presence is one hard to forget. The only downside is that he is not used nearly as much as he should’ve been. Whiplash’s introduction starts off well but then fails to keep this up as the film seems more focused on Stark and his rich boy antics. There is also a disappointing amount of scenes of Whiplash in his new suit, with the previously gripping attack on a race course amounting to nothing. The fault does not lie with Rourke, however, who gives an outstanding performance that is both comical and menacing.
Black Widow is played by Scarlett Johansson who is in the film for just the right amount of time. Admittedly I am not a Scarlett fan as I find the majority of her performances stale and unemotive (this one prooving to be no different) with her only role being eye candy to draw in the comic book nerds. Her stunt scenes are impressive, but given this is most likely a short man in a wig kicking ass it saysd alot more for his acting abilities than hers. However, for those who are fans of Johansson you’ll be pleased to know she shows a fair amount of flesh as well as donning excellent outfits.
Is there too much action? Nope. Once more there is just the right amount with the Ironman suits appearing much more frequently, with one becoming War Machine. The only potentially negative element of the action sequences is the penultimate battle between Ironman and War Machine and loads of giant robots. It does seem to drag on a bit, but it more than makes up for it with the stunning effects.
