BEETLE REVIEWS IRON MAN 2

In the first Iron Man audiences were given permission to drool openly over the bulky, grey and epicly bad-ass prototype War Machine Suit and the Red, White, and Blue (as I refer to it) Iron Man suit (Which was a lean mean ass-kicking machine). Iron Man came at a time when most Americans were growing ever angrier at the situaton in Iraq and gave audiences the ultimate wish-fulfillment as we watched Iron man epicly lay waste to those dirty areas and save countless numbers of untold lives, while also serving as an epic parable about a selfish jerk who for too long has ignored the damage his father's company has created and when he finally is given a wake-up call he takes drastic steps to fix the mistakes of his father.

In Iron Man 2, Tony Stark has let the fame of his Iron Man alter-ego of sorts get to his already overinflated head. The fame and popularity are beginning to affect Tony's ability to think clearly, which he's going to need if he is to make it out of the oncoming mess in one piece. Iron Man 2 follows the example of Temple of Doom and Empire Strikes Back and makes itself darker than the first. Instead of having to face one main problem, Tony is struggling with several major ones. For starters Tony has found himself the focus of Senator Stern (Played hilariously by Garu Shandling) who wants Tony to hand over the Iron Man suit to the government, there's the issue of the palladium Tony uses to power the arc reactor core in his chest slowly poisoning him, there's Justin Hammer (Played by the brilliant Sam Rockwell); Tony's corporate rival who is working on a line of Iron Man suits in an attempt to outdo him, and then there's Whiplash (played by Mickey Rourke, speaking with a heavy russian accent); the films main villain who believes Stark Inc. wronged his dad and is now out for revenge. Complicating matters even more is Tony's overinflated ego, which causes quite a bit of trouble for our iron-clad hero. Seeing how his plate is already overflowing Tony hands the chain-of-command over to his girlfriend Pepper Potts and brings in a new notary named Natasha Romanoff/Natalie Rushman (played by Scarlett Johansson) so he can try to sort everything out on his own.

If it isn't already obvious by the above paragraph, The film boasts a higher character count than the first one did. These new characters are so rich and detailed (More than the characters in the first one were) that I can't help but talk a little bit more about them.

There's Gary Shandling as Senator Stern, the head of the effort to get Tony to hand over "The Iron Man Weapon" to the government. He hates Tony with a passion and the last scene in the film makes use of this character in a gut-wrenchingly hilarious closing scene. There's Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, Tony's main corporate rival who is currently working on his own line of Iron Man suits in an attempt to outdo his competitor. Sam Rockwell throws himself into this chracter, filling Justin's personality with a bizarre wackiness and self-absorbtion that makes it truly fun to hate this prettyboy prick. I loved this character. Be sure to watch for the inspired dance he performs during the last act of the film (It takes place at The Stark Convention). There's Mickey Rourke as the surprisingly likeable Whiplash. Somehow Mickey does something rare and makes this character a pretty sympathetic vilaain while also making it clear that this guy has gone mad from his obsession of the destruction of Tony Stark. There's Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. He appears smack-dab in the middle of the film and basically acts as Tony's conscience for the parts he appears in. And, of course, there's the hottie mchottie scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. She can knock you out with her eyes, her body, the way she moves around a room, or with a wicked left hook. She is one of the most amazing, drool-worthy (and drool I did) characters that's appeared in any film for a while. I'm going to have to side with Tony on this one, I WANT ONE TOO!!!

Then there are the returning chracters. There's Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, he puts on a performance that is just as good, if not better, than the one he did in the first film. There's Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Tony's foil and leading love interest back in a somewhat bigger role than in the last one. There's Jon Favreau as Happy, Tony's bodyguard, chauffeur, and friend. He steals alot of scenes in this film and even has his very own fight scene. Then there's Don Cheadle stepping into the role of Rhodey Rhodes, Tony's best friend. He does just fine in the role, even though I feel that Terance Howard was a somewhat better fit.
The characters are one of the films strongest points and one of the reasons its such a joy to watch (or re-watch).

Iron Man 2 boasts more high-octane action and drool-inducing special effects than the first one did, most of which can be found in the films first and last acts. Unlike the first film, this one's last act (Which takes place during a demonstration by Justin Hammer) manages to outshine the films first and second ones. While the first act has the awesome fight scene between Iron Man and Whiplash, the last act is packed with much more high-octane action and has the better fight scenes including the Black Widow Fight, The Iron Man Stark Con Fight, and the Final Fight. While the final fight between Iron Man, Whiplash, and War Machine is way too short (Lasting around 3 minutes... 5 at the most) and anti-climactic the fight that comes just before it is so long and satisfying with so many cool set pieces involved that you can't help but be somewhat satisfied with the ending the filmmakers created this time around.

While the film has an action-packed first and last acts, it's second act is somewhat slower, but it's where the heart of the story lies. Iron Man 2, with all the heroics and ass-kicking aside, is about the man inside the suit, how he's struggling with his human nature, and the effects that enormous fame and popularity can have on one man. All of these themes come to play in the films second act. While the first film was more fast-paced, and engaging; the sequel has more in-depth and intriguing themes about Tony's human nature and how he continuously makes decisions that hurt the ones he loves without realizing he's doing so. Some of the most interesting scenes include recorded footage of Tony's deceased father (played by John Slattery) who was wise enough to record a video for his son that could be viewed at a later date when Tony could understand what he was going to tell him. While at first the recorded footage seems to imply that Tony's dad doesn't care about him, the last reel reveals the touchng love that Tony's dad had for his son. These themes help to make the sequel all the better.

Filled with slam-bang action scenes, more interesting and highly detailed characters than the first film had, and some in-depth darker themes, Iron Man 2 is a step above its predecessor in all the right ways.

4/5 Stars

Be sure to stay after the credits for a post-credit surprise