As a general fan of the superhero genre I was excited to see how Marvel would translate their metal-clad terrorist slayer Iron Man on to screens and was content to watch the first installment of the franchise with interest. What a massive disappointment that was.Lucky then, that the second has a much sharper storyline and is largely more fluid than the first. Better bad guys too.
Our hero remains the narcissistic and arrogant Anthony Stark played exceptionally well by Robert Downey Jr, 6 months on from his somewhat self-satisfied announcement to the world that he was Iron Man.In the interim, the US government have decided therefore, that they are entitled to Stark’s new technology and set about trying to force it out of him.
Tony Stark is also slowly dying. The sparkly contraption which kept him alive in the first film after a piece of shrapnel entered his blood stream is slowly killing him and he must find a suitable replacement before his veins turn any bluer, because apparently they indicate just how sick he is. Well that’s something new. Wearing that suit can’t always be as good as it looks.
Cue the introduction of a few more ‘vital’ characters into the mix and a new, sassier storyline materialises, even if it is a little too complex than is necessary. We have Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury and Don Cheadle takes on the role of Col James Rhodes somewhat controversially in the place of Terrence Howard.
Micky Rourke of ‘The Wrestler’ fame plays Ivan Vanko, a Russian physicist hell bent on destroying Stark after their fathers had a little falling out. I was apprehensive about Rourke's performance at first since the trailer made him look a tad ridiculous, but since he doesn't speak that much and when he does it's mainly in snappy little quips in a passable Russian accent, I'll admit he makes a good bad guy, much better than that beardy atrocity last time by any rate.That said, it would seem that Stark's biggest enemy is actually himself here. Ever wondered what an inebriated Iron Man would look like? Well just keep watching to find out.
