Review: ‘Iron Man 2’ fails to catch popular imagination

Sequels are quite popular in Hollywood and when it comes to the superhero franchise, there is no dearth of sequels to Super Man, Batman, Spider Man and the latest Iron Man. Directed by Job Favreau, ‘Iron Man 2’ stars Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson. ‘Iron Man 2’ carries forward the story from its prequel and portrays Tony Stark battling his arch nemesis Ivan Vanko.

Spicezee Bureau

Sequels are quite popular in Hollywood and when it comes to the superhero franchise, there is no dearth of sequels to Super Man, Batman, Spider Man and the latest Iron Man. Directed by Job Favreau, ‘Iron Man 2’ stars Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson. ‘Iron Man 2’ carries forward the story from its prequel and portrays Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) battling his arch nemesis Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke). Popular as the ‘the one-man army responsible for world peace’, Tony is pitted against the US military, where the latter dub Iron Man as an overbearing presence and an outlaw. Unable to reproduce Tony’s technology, the US military wants the access to his creations, which Tony blankly denies. However, in Moscow, Ivan Vanko watches Tony and US military’s growing differences, busy preparing an evil robot that will destroy Iron Man. For an avid Iron Man fan, ‘Iron Man 2’ does not open with gravity defying stunts. The only saving grace of the film is the excellent fight sequence between Tony and Ivan on the Formula One racetracks or the climax of the film, where Tony battles umpteen evil robots, all created by Ivan to exterminate Iron Man. Unlike its predecessor, there is hardly any chemistry between Stark and Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) in ‘Iron Man 2.’ The movie does not boast of a tight script, thereby making it disjointed at narrative level, instead as a cohesive unit. Mickey Rourke is brilliant as Ivan and offers a formidable match to Tony Stark aka Iron Man while Scarlett Johansson is utterly wasted. Finally, it is Robert Downey Jr, who keeps you interested in ‘Iron Man 2.’ The actor oozes charm and charismatic sex appeal as the billionaire superhero. Catch ‘Iron Man 2’ only if you are a big fan of Robert Downey Jr. Ratings: Two cheers for this one!