Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Iron Man 2 is a fun ride

Three stars

Tony Stark is a narcissist. He’s much like the movie he’s in. If some millionaire said that he had successfully privatized world peace than getting up and dancing out of his senate hearing, a few hours after he, in a metal suit, flew onto the stage, with scald clad dancers shaking their behinds, than you wouldn’t take it seriously as you watched the YouTube clip on the web the next day. Of course, it’s silly. This is a comic book movie. Of course, though, that doesn’t mean all comic book movies are silly. Look at ‘The Dark Knight’ or the wonderful ‘Spider Man’ movies. What I am saying is that comic book movie is a genre that can afford to be silly. This movie is silly. The squeal to last year’s mega hit, “Iron Man”, “Iron Man 2” doesn’t really have much of a plot. Tony Stark has a hot girlfriend. Tony Stark pulls many stunts. Tony Stark creates a new element. Tony Stark has a hot secretary. Tony Stark is also a superhero because he created an iron suit, and the core of it is injected into his heart. Yes, Tony Stark is dying, but this isn’t a deep emotional movie. He’s going to kick butt before he dies. Tony Stark is Bruch Wayne without the dark side.

Robert Downy Jr. knows what he’s playing, and he does it with a dry wit. It appears that another man, one from Russia, has made an iron suit too, and he is going to take on Tony Stark. He wants to kill him. He’s going to be the one who is going to be the new Iron Man. I assume he’s going to use his Iron Man suit for evil. Mickey Rourke isn’t really given much to do here. Than there’s his girlfriend. Gwyneth Paltrow, as she is always getting in fights with her billionaire boyfriend, than she makes up with him, but she’s always concerned, with him running around in that iron suit, who knows what will happen to him? Scarlett Johansson plays his new assistant or secretary but actually she’s an agent for The Avengers, which is Marvel’s rip off of the Justice League of America. So, the rival contractor, played by Bill Pullman, hires the Russian guy to work for him, because hey he wants a iron suit too which leads to a big battle. Pullman is goofy here.

The point is that this movie really doesn’t have much of a plot, and is far from the best of the comic book movies. Yet, I’m going to recommend it anyway because we all need brain dead entertainment sometimes. Sometimes you really need a movie that is good to munch on popcorn with. 'Iron Man 2' is a fun ride, much like it's first one. The film goes fast, and there’s action and mobojumble, but this is also one of those films that feels like the entire film is a set up to other films. The film is setting up to Iron Man 3, obviously, and an Avengers film.

Iron Man reminds me of Batman. Two millionaires are trying to save the world with a superhero like creation they have made in their basement. Yet, Bruce Wayne is a darker guy. Bruce Wayne holds dinner parties, where the big bang is the joker entering the party with a gun. The big bang at Tony Stark's parites is Tony Stark. He certainly is closer to Donald Trump, in his showmanship expect cooler. At the end of the day, though, Tony Stark has nothing on Bruce Wayne.