I’m just going to start this review out bluntly. Iron Man 2 was the biggest disappointment in a long time. I loved the first Iron Man and couldn’t wait for a sequel, but it was a huge let down. It was a bit saddening to be frank. This movie had everything going for it. It had Robert Downey Jr. playing the same character we know and love from the first, with the always fantastic Gwyneth Paltrow and best of all the great Mickey Rourke as a villain. Unfortunately the movie fell apart to the point of just being up setting.
The movie opens on a very cool note with Mickey Rourke designing his own mechanical suit that he plans to wreak havoc with to avenge his father. Its a well shot scene and it makes you excited for the rest of the movie. Next scene opens open with a few jokes, then later on, the movie ends with a joke and in between are a few decent action scenes and a lot of jokes (none of which are that funny). The movie seemed a lot more concerned with their next punch line than actually telling a good story. That might work for a comedy, but it doesn’t work here.
Iron Man 2, just tried so hard to make everything bigger and better and really just forgot what they were doing a long the way. They have this fantastic villain, played amazingly by Mickey Rourke and the character isn’t even close to being used to his full potential. Then you’ve got Robert Downey Jr. acting the same way he did in the first one, but when a sequel’s not written well, your performance is just overshadowed by your original one.
Iron Man 2 was a travesty in every sense of the world. I truly went in there wanting and expecting to enjoy myself. As hard as I tried though, I wasn’t able to. For this movie, I went to the midnight premiere, but when Iron Man 3 is released I’m going to have to wait for some reviews first.
Grade: D+
