Okay,
so Iron Man 2 is my least favorite
Avengersverse film to date. Not an
original stance, I know, but there we are.
It’s not without some merits, but overall, it features a lackluster
villain and some needless Complications for Teh Drama, and it doesn’t have the
same spark as Iron Man’s first outing.
(Some spoilers.)
Six
months after Tony announces himself to the world as Iron Man, his life isn’t
quite the superhero playboy billionaire’s dream he’d like it to be. Sure, he’s kicking butt, taking names, and
keeping the world safe, which has him swimming in adulation and
sexually-adventurous admirers, but it’s not all roses. Chiefly, there’s the palladium core of the
arc reactor that powers the Iron Man suit; the cores are burning out as fast as
he can replace them, and they’re slowly poisoning his blood. His large-looming mortality is the foremost
problem on his mind, but he also has the military on his back (they think his
suit should be turned over to them) and a buffed-up, tech-savvy foe with a
mysterious vendetta against him.
The
whole “Tony is dying” subplot is poorly handled. Mainly, it just makes Tony act extra immature
and dickish, keep secrets from everyone, and take death-wish risks without
explaining why. Plus, the show mixes in
a few daddy issues just for the heck of it, and both hindrances feel
half-baked. Maybe they’re thrown in to
distract from the Big Bad, the not-so-bad Ivan Vanko (with an additional
quasi-nemesis in the form of arms-dealing rival Justin Hammer.) Admittedly, not many of Marvel’s films have
really well-done villains, but Vanko definitely doesn’t cut it for me. I like his tear-up-the-joint Whiplash
persona, mostly because the CGI on his electrified whips is pretty cool and his
first big fight with Tony is nicely executed.
On the whole, though, he’s nothing to write home about.
This
film also marks a pretty inauspicious beginning for Black Widow. Now, I love me some Natasha, but her role
here largely requires her to pose as an uninteresting personal assistant. Except for the few occasions in which she
gets to throw down, she basically there for Tony to ogle, and that’s just
wrong. And even when she drops the
pretense and joins the action, there’s almost no sense of her as a character,
as a person. Simply unacceptable.
When I
reviewed Iron Man, I mentioned my
lukewarm feelings on Terrence Howard’s Rhodey and tried to remember if it was
the writing or the Don Cheadle recast that made me enjoy Cheadle’s Rhodey
better. Having now rewatched the first
of Cheadle’s appearance as Rhodey, I’d say it’s probably both. Though Tony still has no qualms about walking
all over Rhodey, the character doesn’t have the same long-suffering feel he had
in his first outing. This Rhodey takes
Tony’s antics more in stride and snarks back pretty well, and with Cheadle at
the helm, he comes across as Tony’s exasperated friend rather than his
eternally-outsmarted babysitter. Also,
Rhodey takes a greater part in the proceedings here, largely thanks to the
arrival of War Machine. Is his first
rodeo a success? No – he gets way in
over his head (only partially his fault,) but even when he’s on the ropes, he does
whatever he can to back Tony. I like
that.
Warnings
Comic
book violence, sexual references, language, and some drinking.
No comments:
Post a Comment