Iron Man 2
Robert Downey Jr. is back to give us more unbridled enthusiasm of American nationalism in the sequel to the box office hit Iron Man. Hero Tony Stark (Downey) is surrounded by a new, notable cast to help him fight the given foreign nemesis. Whereas the first film chose to paint evil as sweaty Al Qaeda look-alikes, Director Jon Favreau has chosen Mickey Rourke to play Ivan Vanko, a Russian with unfriendly features, a thick accent, and who attempts to beat Stark by perfecting his own model of the Iron Man suit (Space/Arms race anyone?) film one made sense by picking a middle eastern backdrop for evil as it is in accordance with the contemporary United States foreign policy but one might be inclined to ask what the point is of an outdated Russian bad guy twenty years after the end of the Cold War. The answer to this would be clearly explained by any Iron Man comic junkie who would tell you that Vanko’s character was created during the Cold War and can still work as a credible roadblock to Iron Man (or America’s) intention of preserving a stable international order. Even without the incredibly cheesy accent, Rourke’s performance is well short of the substance of his Best Male Actor nominee performance in The Wrestler.
Rourke however is not the only actor/actress who falls well short of their on screen talents in this display of mere fireworks rather than meaningful dialogue. Gweneth Paltrow returns as Pepper Potts, Stark’s somewhat mousey secretary who throws fuel to the fire that is his huge ego. Meanwhile Scarlett Johansson seems completely out of place in any sort of action film as Natasha Romanoff, also known as Black Widow, a Russian female ninja who acts as a bridge between Stark and Vanko in the films plot. For reasons which would be opaque to supporters of Johansson’s earlier, smaller budget films such as Lost in Translation, it may come as no comfort that she has signed on to do two more films as the same character in The Avengers and Nick Fury both of which come out in 2012. Fans of the series have certainly been looking forward to the appearance of Samuel L. Jackson after his cameo appearance as Nick Fury at the end of the credits of the first film. Along with Don Cheadle who plays War Machine, they aid stark with weapons and brawn in moments of seemingly great duress.
As for Downey himself, he perfects the role as a confident business man who needs do to things his own way while at the same time risking his neck for the advance of his fellow friends and citizens’ interest. Cocky, cunning and unyielding he once again fits the mold enough to be an impressive cowboy-type hero.
Overall not much seems to have changed from the first film. Stark is in a new dilemma against a new enemy and is offered help by new allies who will help him fight for the same cause. The film will undoubtedly be a pleasure for those seeking to minimal depth of thought and are enticed by the fighting and explosions while any viewer who seeks to understand what the message is will have no difficulty in seeing the support of the current American foreign policy. Aside from the fact that Stark himself represents a military contractor, the film is loaded with the contemporary cultural paradigms which allow such a prerogative to operate.
Tags: 20th Century Fox, Ivan Vanko, Jon Favreau, Mickey Rourke, Robert Downey, Tony Stark
