MrNepathy's Blog

Now I have been an Iron Man fan since before I was a teenager. For a while I bought the issues one at a time at the local 7-11 or at the comic book store. Eventually I subscribed to it back in the days when comic books arrived in brown paper sleeves in the mail. Though I read other comics on occasion, like Groo the Wanderer or The West Coast Avengers, Iron Man was my only subscription. I subscribed just in time to get issue 200 in the mail. That issue came out in 1985. So in reviewing Iron Man 2, there are two ways to look at it: as a film in general or a film about Tony Stark/Iron Man.

It would be almost impossible for me to look at the film objectively like I would say The Losers or Clash of the Titans. It’s more like a Star Wars movie because it’s not just about the film being entertaining, it’s about the film being faithful to the universe it’s based upon. The casual fan of films can go watch Episode I, hear the word “midichlorians” and not want to shout angry words. Likewise a casual fan might not appreciate some tiny moments like Anthony Daniels appearing in the cantina in Episode II. Having a knowledge about the subject beyond what appears in film opens up greater avenues for appreciation and critique.

For instance in the first film, Tony Star confronts Obadiah Stane. In the movie Obadiah is wearing the Iron Monger suit and after a vicious battle, Iron Man wins. In the comic book Obadiah has assistance in controlling the armor. Tony realizes this, blows up the transmitter and then defeats Obadiah. Obadiah ends the fight by shooting himself in the head with the repulsor bolt from his palm. It’s a much darker ending and parallels how Obadiah’s father died in a game of Russian roulette. That’s a little dark for a summer blockbuster, so I can see why the fight was changed.

The problem with Iron Man is that he has lousy villains. His main nemesis is The Mandarin, who is not a small orange, but instead a powerful Chinese wizard. In much the way the Hulk faces against The Leader in a case of opposites, strong and dumb versus weak and intelligent, Iron man faces The Mandarin to have new technology versus ancient magic. Magic wouldn’t really fit in with the Marvel film universe which has so far stuck with mutation, genetic manipulation and technology. Iron Monger was also a long running villain, but he died in the first film, so barring some sort of zombie Iron Monger, that’s out as option. Truthfully I think Iron Man’s main opponent has always been Tony Stark. Tony Stark is a case of man versus himself. Iron Man 2 features a bit of that, but also focuses on Justin Hammer. For those not familiar with Justin Hammer, which would probably be most of you, I can sum up Justin Hammer by saying he’s Lex Luther. No special powers, just conniving and smart. In Justin Hammer’s case he’s not so much a mastermind of schemes as he is a genius at human resources. Justin Hammer uses his wealth to hire super-powered henchmen to deal with Iron Man.

Sam Rockwell plays Justin Hammer and I always pictured Justin Hammer more like Christopher Plummer. While Justin is still refined and classy in the film, he seems a little more comedic than his comic book counterpart. There are hints in the film that in some ways this is the origin of Justin Hammer for he’s not truly evil in Iron Man 2, just misguided and overly ambitious. Hopefully Rockwell has been cast for the third film. He’s good at playing the underestimated weasel type.

Don Cheadle takes over the role of James Rhodes, Tony Stark’s long time friend and advisor. Terrance Howard did a good job, but if you’re going to have to replace Terrance Howard, Don Cheadle makes for an excellent choice. Actually he’s probably the actor that should have been picked in the first place. James and Tony are supposed to have a complex relationship as James is the discipline to balance out Tony’s impulsiveness. As hinted in the first movie, James becomes War Machine in Iron Man 2. Without giving away how it happens, it’s safe to say the film took some liberties. In the comic books Tony can no longer function as Iron Man while battling his alcoholism. James takes his place, wearing the suit until Tony returns to being Iron Man in issue 200. But as James did a good job, Tony develops a modified suit for James and that suit is War Machine. The suits fit the man as Tony is refined and James is the consummate soldier. Iron Man has flash and style like a sports car; War Machine has firepower like a tank. The conflict in the film between Tony and James feels right. Tony gets out of control and James must choose between friendship and duty. Though the scene where Tony goes out of control might seem funny or out of place, it’s very fitting for the character. This is not a Spider-man 3 dance montage, thankfully.

Mickey Rourke was originally cast to play Crimson Dynamo, a Russian soldier who wears a suit of armor akin to Iron Man. As Crimson Dynamo was from the Cold War era, he’s everything you would expect. I didn’t read why changes were made, but it was decided that instead Rourke would play Whiplash, a virtually disposable villain from the Iron Man series. I have no idea if the history used for Whiplash in the movies matches Whiplash’s history from the comics because really who reads about the history of Whiplash? He was a guy often teamed with The Beetle and Blizzard. He did not wear power armor but instead he used a special whip and… that’s about it. Genius is not a word you would use to describe him in the comics. The portrayal on screen is more like an amalgamation of Crimson Dynamo and Whiplash from the comics. He’s smart, wears power armor and uses a whip. Mickey Rourke is believable as the result of that character combination. There’s a certain calm, detached sense of purpose. It’s the lack of rage that really makes the character seem evil and twisted. Since I don’t have much invested in the Whiplash character from the comics, this is a good switch. Maybe diehard Whiplash fans will be upset, but they’re probably also diehard Dengar fans.

There were some complaints that Iron Man 2 is a large ad for the Avengers movie. The film certainly does build towards the Avengers, especially with the inclusion of a few lines of dialogue and the small scene after the end credits, but I don’t think the parts that lead to the Avengers overwhelm the central story. Plus it’s fairly common in a comic book to ramp up to a larger story arch. Often comic covers will be splashed with, “Part of the Road to Civil War” or “Prologue to Acts of Vengeance.” Marvel started its own film company so it could do stuff like this and as a comic fan, I welcome this type of thing, especially since you still get a complete Iron Man story. In actuality the scenes in Iron Man 2 that lead way to the Avengers play into the story rather nicely because they’re about how Tony needs to stop being so… Tony Stark-ish and start being more responsible. He’s a powerful, intelligent man but hindered by his personal demons.

One of those personal demons is his relationship with his late father, Howard Stark. Howard Stark helped build the H-bomb, and tried to build a utopia. He’s equal parts Walt Disney and Oppenheimer. Unfortunately he’s more of an American Icon than a father, which is why Tony has some issues. The film covers some of these issues as Tony watches some old promotional videos featuring his father, played by John Slattery. This is perhaps the best casting choice in Iron Man 2. Slattery’s most recent role is that of Roger Sterling on TV’s Mad Men. It’s a role that probably helped Slattery play Howard Stark. They’re from the same era, have similar mannerisms and styles. The scenes where Tony watches the old movies are some of the best in the film because they point out Tony’s weaknesses as well as his strengths.

But what happens outside of the character development when it’s action or dialogue and can be judged on its merits? There are some good things and some bad. The scene at the race track could have been better. A segment of it is shown in the trailer so I feel safe talking about it without spoiling it. Tony’s dialogue seems a little too glib at times given the danger at hand. It’s one thing when he’s glib when his own life is in danger and quite another when his friends are in trouble. Still the scene is good overall because it shows how Tony can solve a problem even when outgunned (the armor he is wearing is for emergencies and not as high powered as his regular suit). But still it could have been smoother. Also one has to wonder why when combating a guy using a whip, Tony doesn’t just fly out of range and fire from there.

The climactic battle scene does a nice job of letting all of the characters come together to triumph, and lets everyone see how powerful Iron Man and War Machine are before taking on the final bad guy, who proves more difficult. Still I think the final fight ends too quickly. At least the few moments it lasts are entertaining. Apparently he never played an RTS so he never realized you never let infantry get in melee range of archers.

There is another element added that hasn’t been in previews, so I won’t describe it here even though it’s a major part of the central plot. I don’t remember that exact plot from the comic books, but similar themes were brought into play. It goes along with the common Marvel theme of balancing between power and consequences. Some might argue that the solution comes about too easily, but I would also say that how the solution comes about proves that even Tony Stark needs help sometime.

The movie clocks in at a little over two hours and the two hours go by quickly. You’ll get some good dialogue with Tony being appropriately smug, a nice action sequence with Scarlett Johansson beating up a lot of folks and if you stay past the credits a brief glimpse at things to come. Now I’m not a huge fan of the character they hint at, but even I thought, “that could be epic.” Or bad.

As it stands on its own, it’s a good, amusing superhero romp. Speaking as a fan of the character, it’s definitely worth seeing. Part of me is still amazed to see my guy flying around on the big screen and with his face on Dr. Pepper cans, beach towels and the toy aisle.

Last, if you missed the hard-to-spot Captain America’s shield in the first film, I’m sure you can spot it in this one.

Go see Iron Man 2, enjoy it, then buy lots of Iron Man merchandise. I don’t care if you jump on this bandwagon. In fact, I hope you enjoy what I always have.