The Freak's Rating: C+ : Iron Man was one of the best films of 2008 and one of the best-reviewed films on this site. All the users loved it without a single rating less than a C and a solid B+ average. Robert Downey Jr. has been given more chances in Hollywood than most, primarily because he does have amazing acting ability. He revitalized his career with Iron Man and a franchise was born. Though the original had its flaws, overall it was as solid a superhero film as you are likely to see. Sadly, the sequel is an enormous step backwards.
Despite having two years to launch Iron Man 2 successfully, this one seems rushed from the opening credits onward. Every cliche you can imagine from a superhero film is present, all starting with a bad guy losing a loved one, staring upwards and screaming in darkness while the camera pans upward (escaping the shot from within his yell). Wow, never seen that before. From there forward, the originality of the first film is lost and though they attempt desperately to get it back (mostly with one-liners from RDJ), it never does.
Add to the problems that three roles of the film are ridiculouslly cast. Garry Schandling as a Senator, Don Cheadle replacing Terrance Howard and Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman are all major blunders in the casting department. Hollywood should have learned their lesson casting Cheadle as an action guy in Traitor. It didn't work then and it is an incredible misfire here.
Mickey Rourke is an amazing actor and does what he can, but the part is simply too lame for someone of his caliber. The ACDC soundtrack is the highlight of the film for me, finally bringing a solid rock and roll soundtrack to set with a superhero film. That, however, is not good enough for a recommendation. Those who want a superhero film and can easily eliminate all hope of something original will like this film for the ride it is. Those who want more, wait for the third film...and let's hope the filmmakers get back to the originality that made the first such a success.
Nate's Rating: C+ : Just giving it a C would mean it was as bad as Avatar, which it wasn't.
When I went into Iron Man 1, I was expecting a fairly cheesy superhero flick with maybe a few entertaining bits. It was quite a bit better than that and we even own it now. Iron Man 2 is what I expected Iron Man 1 to be.
But look back at Iron Man 1. Take away Robert Downy Jr.'s charm and what are you left with? Not much. Well, in IM2 that's pretty much what you have. I mean, RDJ still does an acceptable job, but nothing really exceptional beyond a handful of lines here and there.
Both Don Cheadle and Scarlett Johansson are miscast. Cheadle has a little bit of a complex character to pull off and he's just not convincing. Johansson is easy on the eyes, but unintentionally giggle-inducing when she tries to appear tough or intimidating.
Mickey Rourke is underused as a motivational-lite villain. I mean, he does a fantastic job, but it's like watching Tiger Woods play a round of Putt-Putt. He could've done a lot more given a bigger field to play in. And by the way, is the electric whip guy Iron Man's arch-nemesis in the comics or something? Cuz that's just... kinda... gay.
The movie also pushes the suspension of disbelief clause a little too far. All superhero movies get a few breaks when it comes to plausibility, but they weren't even trying in a few places. Just lazy writing.
And speaking of writing, the love story ending (I'm not going to say who the love involved because it's suppose to be, like, a surprise or something) was stupid.
So now here's a test. Raise your hand if you're tired of seeing someone turn and walk away from something in slow motion just as it explodes in a huge mushroom ball of fire, while they don't even break stride. Good, ok. Keep 'em up for a second. Hey Hollywood. See that? I hope so.
The movie does have a moral, though. Robotic military drone AI has advanced to the point where a suitably armed robot will pause for dramatic effect right before killing someone who is significant to the plot, just like real soldiers. So, if you want to survive the inevitable attack of the killer robots, be important. It will stall the robots just long enough for the real star to fly in and save you.
