On Tuesday I attended the Seattle premiere of Iron Man 2. First off, the event was very cool. The theater was closed down just for us, and security was very very strict. Checking IDs, verifying authenticity of tickets, wristbands, etc. The after-party was very cool, lots of media guests and local personalities, and Tony Stark martinis. (none for me, thanks)
I decided to give myself a few days to let it "soak" before doing the review. Whenever I see a movie like this I tend to be overly-enthusiastic right afterward, so I waited til the euphoria wore off before posting (unlike the last movie's review I did).
So, how's the movie? It's good! If you enjoy summer blockbusters, action movies, comic book movies, or the first Iron Man flick you need to see this. -As sequels go, it's very good (especially when compared to recent sequels like Indy, Star Wars, FF, Wolverine, etc).
-As overhyped movies go, this one fares much better than the average overhyped summer blockbuster. Many lately have been a disappointment.
-As a sequel to Iron Man? Good but not perfection. The first movie was not without flaws, although its "tone" was great - a mix of fun, action, snarky comedy and wit, and "coolness". The good news here is that the sequel retains the tone of the first movie for the most part. There were two things the first movie lacked in my opinion: 1) Not enough action and 2) not enough time in the actual final suit. Valid complaints which for the most part, IM2 takes care of. There is more action and definitely more suit time. War Machine is an absolute delight/fangasm/exercise in coolness.
The second movie unfortunately sometimes feels like a "bridge" film, well... because it is. Thor comes out next summer, then Captain America, then The Avengers movie in 2012. So Iron Man 2 starts building this up, bringing more S.H.I.E.L.D. stuff. Which is fine because S.H.I.E.L.D. was introduced in IM1, but some reviewers have said that it took away from the core "Iron Man" storyline. I'll say 'maybe' on that one - if you know your comics, Iron Man was a founding member of the Avengers and actually helped fund S.H.I.E.L.D's inception.
The cast? Again, awesome. The big news here is Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard. My fear was that Cheadle would not be "tough" enough to play Rhodey, who in the Marvel Universe is SO FAR from being a sidekick it's not even funny. Cheadle actually stepped it up, and I'm pleased. Although I never thought that Howard did a bad job. ScarJo is basically "fun to watch", but barely necessary for the plot. Samuel L Jackson is PERFECT as Nick Fury (I'll explain later), and Sam Rockwell totally nails his part as Justin Hammer. He is hilarious, just watch his hands... Mickey Rourke was surprisingly better than I thought - I expected a half-assed Heath Ledger copycat but that's not the case at all. Last but not least, RDJ is again a knockout as Tony Stark. He successfully avoided the "Johnny Depp in Pirates sequels" problem. He keeps it fresh as he deals with both the positives and negatives of telling the world "I am Iron Man."
But this movie is not without its flaws. There are pacing issues, in some sections the movie feels both too long and too short at the same time. It clocks in at 2 hours 5 minutes, I think a well placed 10-15 more minutes would have helped. Favreau says there is over a half hour of cut footage, so my guess is the studios had it cut down to avoid the Revenge of the Fallen syndrome (which was 2 and a half hours). Also I would have ended the final battle scene differently - a bit underwhelming. War Machine deserved more screen time.
Bottom line - this isn't an Oscar winner, but it is a successful sequel to a successful movie. All in all, this movie does its job: Satisfies the hardcore fans, entertains casual moviegoes, and gets your blood pumping. If you liked the first movie you'll dig this. If you're a comic book fan and/or familiar with the Marvel Universe, this movie is a 2+ hour nerdgasm which has TONS of "easter eggs" for you to try and catch. It'll take at least two viewings! It's not necessarily better or worse than the first, in some areas it's better, some areas it's not. I would score this as a 4 out of 5 lendostars. Go see it!
And of course, stay for the after-credits scene!
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I decided to give myself a few days to let it "soak" before doing the review. Whenever I see a movie like this I tend to be overly-enthusiastic right afterward, so I waited til the euphoria wore off before posting (unlike the last movie's review I did).
So, how's the movie? It's good! If you enjoy summer blockbusters, action movies, comic book movies, or the first Iron Man flick you need to see this. -As sequels go, it's very good (especially when compared to recent sequels like Indy, Star Wars, FF, Wolverine, etc).
-As overhyped movies go, this one fares much better than the average overhyped summer blockbuster. Many lately have been a disappointment.
-As a sequel to Iron Man? Good but not perfection. The first movie was not without flaws, although its "tone" was great - a mix of fun, action, snarky comedy and wit, and "coolness". The good news here is that the sequel retains the tone of the first movie for the most part. There were two things the first movie lacked in my opinion: 1) Not enough action and 2) not enough time in the actual final suit. Valid complaints which for the most part, IM2 takes care of. There is more action and definitely more suit time. War Machine is an absolute delight/fangasm/exercise in coolness.
The second movie unfortunately sometimes feels like a "bridge" film, well... because it is. Thor comes out next summer, then Captain America, then The Avengers movie in 2012. So Iron Man 2 starts building this up, bringing more S.H.I.E.L.D. stuff. Which is fine because S.H.I.E.L.D. was introduced in IM1, but some reviewers have said that it took away from the core "Iron Man" storyline. I'll say 'maybe' on that one - if you know your comics, Iron Man was a founding member of the Avengers and actually helped fund S.H.I.E.L.D's inception.
The cast? Again, awesome. The big news here is Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard. My fear was that Cheadle would not be "tough" enough to play Rhodey, who in the Marvel Universe is SO FAR from being a sidekick it's not even funny. Cheadle actually stepped it up, and I'm pleased. Although I never thought that Howard did a bad job. ScarJo is basically "fun to watch", but barely necessary for the plot. Samuel L Jackson is PERFECT as Nick Fury (I'll explain later), and Sam Rockwell totally nails his part as Justin Hammer. He is hilarious, just watch his hands... Mickey Rourke was surprisingly better than I thought - I expected a half-assed Heath Ledger copycat but that's not the case at all. Last but not least, RDJ is again a knockout as Tony Stark. He successfully avoided the "Johnny Depp in Pirates sequels" problem. He keeps it fresh as he deals with both the positives and negatives of telling the world "I am Iron Man."
But this movie is not without its flaws. There are pacing issues, in some sections the movie feels both too long and too short at the same time. It clocks in at 2 hours 5 minutes, I think a well placed 10-15 more minutes would have helped. Favreau says there is over a half hour of cut footage, so my guess is the studios had it cut down to avoid the Revenge of the Fallen syndrome (which was 2 and a half hours). Also I would have ended the final battle scene differently - a bit underwhelming. War Machine deserved more screen time.
Bottom line - this isn't an Oscar winner, but it is a successful sequel to a successful movie. All in all, this movie does its job: Satisfies the hardcore fans, entertains casual moviegoes, and gets your blood pumping. If you liked the first movie you'll dig this. If you're a comic book fan and/or familiar with the Marvel Universe, this movie is a 2+ hour nerdgasm which has TONS of "easter eggs" for you to try and catch. It'll take at least two viewings! It's not necessarily better or worse than the first, in some areas it's better, some areas it's not. I would score this as a 4 out of 5 lendostars. Go see it!
And of course, stay for the after-credits scene!
