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Mixed bag.

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on May 15, 2010 at 12:47:02

In Reply to: Iron Man 2? posted by Brian A on May 13, 2010 at 00:36:02:

CAUTION: Spoilers alert.

I liked the movie overall (***/***** - three of five stars), but it seemed very uneven and had some real pacing problems. The uncomfortable (and IMO unnecessary) strawberry scene between Tony Stark (Downey) and Pepper Potts (Paltrow) went on far too long and didn't advance the story very much. Add to that the fact that Tony Stark's treatment of Pepper Potts was inconsistent (at times genuinely appreciative, at others dismissive or sexist, but never romantic) and made the whole idea of him handing her the reins of his corporate empire less plausible.

Also, I didn't feel that there was much chemistry between these characters, at least enough to create any sense of emotional involvement between them; there was more in the first film. By the time Pepper found out that Tony Stark was supposed to be dying, her grief and anger over learning about it seemed totally forced. Also, the cure for his life threatening malady seemed far too easy in light of his own theoretical brilliance and failure to find a remedy on his own.

On the up-side, Scatlett Johnansson's Black Widow character was quite effective in her scenes, with very clever and tightly choreographed fights from both her driver's and her perspective. The scenes of Natashia in the guise of the Black Widow and her tough "body guard" storming Justin Hammer's secured building were some of the best scenes in the film, IMO, with flawlessly executed editing and an appropriate element of humor. While her scenes may not have advanced the plot that much, they did improve the film.

The FX were quite good, but nothing exceptional in this day and age. From the outset I had problems with the villain. Why the heavily armed Grand Prix security didn't take Ivan Vanko out with a head-shot while he was demolishing race cars and drivers is beyond me. They certainly had plenty of time and opportunity since, outside of Vanko's strength and the weapons he used, he was totally unprotected.

The battle scenes were well staged, and Marvel Studio's production values are quite high, but this is my least favorite film by the studio since they started handling every aspect of their properties. Still, it's good eye-candy and deserves reappraisal after it comes out on BD.

Note: Those who hung around until the credits finished rolling got a short teaser scene hinting at the next great Marvel character being groomed for franchise.

Finally, a bit of nit-picking over the credits: I loved the inclusion of the original Bon Scott sung Highway to Hell over the end credits, but was disappointed to see this song credited to Angus Young/Malcolm Young/Brian Johnson when the credits should have read Angus Young/Malcolm Young/Bon Scott. Brian Johnson didn't join the group until after Bon Scott's death and the release of the Bon Scott's last album with AC/DC, the breakthrough LP Highway To Hell. This may just be a mistake by some clueless folks at the studio, but it should be corrected.

Cheers,
AuPh

Edits: 05/15/10

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