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by Marcus at the Movies
Thursday, May 13, 2010
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- 'Tis the summer of sequels, and like most sequels, "Iron Man 2" has some wrinkles.
Back is Gwyn "Pepper" Paltrow as new CEO, and enter new notary girl, Scarlett Johansson.
A lot of reviews out there say "Iron Man 2" is OK, but not as good as the first. I agree, but how many sequels do you remember being better? Vince Vaughn's good buddy actor Jon Favreau directs this film and cameos himself -- where else but in a scene with Miss Johansson.
It seems to me that her character is kind of meaningless, and is put in merely as a distraction -- works for me. Another new and, I think the freshest character, and the one that keeps Iron Man from rusting, is a weapons dealer competitor played by Sam Rockwell.
The film is fun, but lengthy, and too much is crammed in. In fact, most of the dialogue consists of people talking over one another, and the timing is bad. The chemistry and genuine affection Pepper and Iron Man had for one another in the first film is gone, leaving this sequel with no heart, and ironically, robotic.
Junior is still good as Stark and Iron Man, but he's more of a womanizing party animal now and still dropping the one-liners, some fresh, and some stale.
Don Cheadle is back as an Air Force colonel and Iron Man's pal.
"This whole gunslinger act is unnecessary. You don't have to do this alone."
Speaking of cramming things in, there's too many robots, too many robots, too many robots. Only one Samuel L. Jackson though.
I even though I've picked at nuts and bolts, "Iron Man 2" is still a fun popcorn movie I found enjoyable. Villain Mickey Rourke brings all the electricity to the screen, but I'm not buying the Russian accent.