Iron Man 2

So, as part of my birthday celebrations I was taken out to see one of the sequels I have really been looking forward to. Who wouldn’t want to be Tony Stark, an international playboy with a stable of supercars and beautiful women just throwing themselves at you... (all the time).

Robert Downey Jr plays the hero Stark / Iron man and he is brilliant. I don’t think he can be rated highly enough – as long as he doesn’t get too big headed like his onscreen persona Stark. Jr is an excellent actor and I do like him in his serious roles such as in the film Zodiac, but in Iron Man and its sequel we really see him come in to his own and show real quality.

This film will appeal to die hard comic fans and the average couple out for a film on a Saturday night offering you plenty of comedy and action thrown at you from start to finish. The girls get Jr and his nemesis Vanco (Mickey Rourke ) who are enticing and intelligently play their characters and for the boys (Gwyneth Paltrow) reprises her role as Pepper Pots and we also get the very beautiful Scarlett Johansson getting in on some physical action all to the back ground music of heart pumping ACDC.

But still the film offers more.

We get a rival arms dealer who is nasty and self centered enough for anyone to want to see take a fall. The film rather poignantly shows you how money can’t buy you happiness it usually just gets you more trouble and headaches and the need to get in an interior decorator (see Stark’s Birthday party for explanation). However if I had as much money as Stark I would just by a shop full of Aspirin.

Samuel L Jackson also shows up as the Head of SHIELD and as always, has his fierce penetrating eyes on show for all to see, along with a few quips and put downs that are amusing.

The story for the Sequel is that Stark / Iron man has managed to quell rival nations and war lords creating a safer more peaceful world for all. America however, wants to get its hands on the Iron man technology to ensure its world dominance rather than rely on Stark, who they see as unpredictable and unreliable. This seems to be a good idea as we see Stark go more and more off the rails as he realizes his original miniaturized ARC reactor is poisoning him, due to its power source thus shortening his life. As Stark tries to figure out how he can alter the power source while trying to live life as each day is his last which is not far from the truth, Vanco (Rourke) the son of the Co inventor of the ARC reactor decides that the Stark family is the reason his father dies cold and poor in Russia despite helping to create the world’s greatest power source and predictably, decides to take revenge. Rourke still looking Beefy from his Wrestler days can be seen on the movie’s trailers flinging around electric whips which he uses to great effect. (How the hell he doesn’t take an eye out with those things I will never know….)

So the stage is set for Vanco and Stark to battle it out in their respective suits, “but it’s still too easy”, I hear you say ……. So the director (Jon Favreau ) has thrown in some Iron Men drones, hell bent on killing Iron Man and under the control of Vanco. Each of the platoons of drones has missiles and machine guns and they use them at every opportunity. Unfortunately, this is where the CGI really kicks in, but don’t worry it’s still fun and heart pumping stuff and I challenge anyone to not want to fly around in Tony’s suit even if it does look a little snug in the crotch.

Things to look out for are a drunk Iron Man getting rowdy at his own party, Pepper pots and Scarlet Johansen just because they are gorgeous, and Stark eating Doughnuts in a very special place (you’ll see what I mean).

Oh….. and for all those Team Avenger fans who have realized these films are building up to a mega comic book film starring all our heroes at once, there is as has been the case at the end of Hulk and Iron Man 1 a little extra story if willing to hang around to the end of the trailers.….

Just Thort you would like to know………