Iron Man 2 has opted for the ageold fallacy of comic book movies.
You know the "Do the same the things as the first movie except bigger, badder and more exploedy, Ooops we forgot to make it good" thing. Rather than regale you with a witty critique full of clever ripostes and brilliant insights, I feel it necessary to call out this bullshit and attempt to nail down precisely what went wrong in a laughably vain attempt to prevent it in the future.
So I'm going to list the common element between the movies, where it showed up in Iron Man, why it worked in Iron Man, where it showed up in Iron Man 2, and why it did not work in Iron Man 2.
Got it? Good, because I don't.
Common Element: Tony Stark is dying
Appearance in Iron Man: Pieces of shrapnel sit dangerously close to Tony Stark's heart
Why it worked: The irony of Tony Stark being mortally wounded by his own weapons is delicious enough. Pile on top of that the subtle allusion to America's hubris, and the inference that often a superpower's greatest threat is of its own design. In addition, the injury softens Stark's character and allows him to appear more open and vulnerable in addition to serving a critical plot point later in the movie.
Appearance in Iron Man 2: The Palladium core of the Arc Reactor is slowly poisoning Tony Stark and giving him sweet circuit board tattoos.
Why it did not work: Put simply, because it's completely ignored. The poisoning sits on one side of a large room and stares disdainfully at everything else in the movie, only deigning to have any relevance to the plot when it is convenient. Ostensibly, his impending death makes Stark more reckless and suicidal, but this is never elaborated on to develop the character. It doesn't force him into any vulnerable or introspective position that deepens our understanding or empathy. He just becomes a foolhardy drunkard, which to be honest, doesn't seem that different from normal Tony Stark.
Common Element: An antagonist with bad facial hair
Appearance in Iron Man: Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane
Why it worked: Obadiah appeared to be a generally kind, evenkeeled mentor for Tony Stark, who later revealed himself to be a moneyhungry douche. His motivations were clear, the audience felt angry at his betrayal, and Jeff Bridges played up his serpentine, but nonetheless physically intimidating, presence masterfully. He wasn't the best or most original villain, but he worked well in the context of the movie and kept with the general background allegory of America's undoing being its own greed and mendacity.
Appearance in Iron Man 2: Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko
Why it did not work: Ivan Vanko is mad at Tony Stark for...uhm...something? I think it had to do with stealing his father's design for the arc reactor. That would make sense except Vanko doesn't seem to care or mention that, nor does he appear interested in money, power or fame even though the movie goes out of its way to mention that he was jailed for selling state secrets. Vanko had a lot of promise to be, say, a representation of the vulnerability of superpowers and American's latent fear that Russia or someone else will challenge us, start another Cold War and plunge us into a decadeslong paranoia fest again. But instead Vanko exists solely for the purpose of being a dick to Iron Man. It's a credit to Mickey Rourke that Vanko was remarkable in the slightest in this movie.
Common Element: Tony Stark is witty
Appearance in Iron Man: Everywhere
Why it worked: Iron Man's gritty opening set a fairly serious tone for the rest of the movie. For the first twenty minutes of the movie, Tony Stark is stuck in a dark claustrophobic cave with only a car battery and a terrorist's mercy keeping him alive. His wit serves to lighten the mood and create a darkly humorous atmosphere. He's the stereotypical American: always approaching situations with an almost unhinged optimism.
Appearance in Iron Man 2: Semi-Frequent
Why it did not work: First off, the jokes and one liners were much less frequent and not nearly as clever. Stark seemed less hip and witty and more like a pitifully irrelevant senior trying to win people over with forced and outdated humor. Second, because the whole movie fails to come together as cleanly as the original Iron Man, every joke seems like a desperate bandaid or hasty piece of scenery thrown up at the last minute. Third, this whole movie is much more cartoony and lighthearted than the original Iron Man. This makes the oneliners seem obligatory and hamfisted— shoehorned in because someone thought they should be there, not because they actually belonged.
I could go on, but honestly what's the point? Every sequel makes the same mistake. They try to tell a better version of the first movie, instead of using it as backdrop to create a new, original story. In the same way that a delicious chocolate cake gets worse if I just start piling raw eggs and baking soda on top, Iron Man 2 loses out for being a busy clusterfuck full of too many good ideas, actors, and ingredients to allow enough room for a single one of them to ferment and rise.
Related Articles
Gwyneth Paltrow Interview for Iron Man 2
Robert Downey Jr. Interview for Iron Man 2
Scarlett Johansson Interview for Iron Man 2
