Iron Man 2

This doesn’t work, man. A by-the-numbers comic book movie with zero interesting scenes. I wasn’t particularly thrilled by the first Iron Man, either, but I had no trouble watching it as a mind breather. What I liked the most were the dialogues and the interactions among the characters, something that unfortunately I can’t say about the second one, and thus the lower rating. And the worst is that when there finally was some action, it only took a moment for me to long for it to finish quickly. Bland, without any spark or ideas. (04/09/2010)

Business as usual. As long as Downey is playing himself (or, if you like, Stark) it is mostly fun, but as soon as he puts on the suit then he just stares and it’s time for something else than verbal action, and then comes boredom, routine and... more boredom on top. Next time it needs a lot more of those “mating call" comedy scenes like those in Stark’s former CEO’s office and a lot less action. Or else a director who is good at action. (03/05/2010)

Considering that in terms of Robert Downey Jr.'s current characters, I tolerate Iron Man more than his version of Sherlock Holmes, I can have more fun with this sequel than with A Game of Shadows. The second film is funnier and more straightforward because Iron Man is already defined, but on the other hand, the primary fun is hampered a bit by Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell, or dumb and dumber. Scarlett Johansson is also very weak, but the main aspects still work. Gwyneth Paltrow has managed to stop aging and I'm actually quite looking forward to the third film mainly because of her. I probably won't see anything as stupid as Stark Expo 1974 again, but why not? And yes, Stan Lee is still with us. (02/05/2013)

I wouldn't expect a warning about the power of (media) imagery from a film whose main protagonist spends half the time drinking and goofing around. Stark is just as amoral a character as the other arms magnate, Hammer, but he knows how to impress people and make fun of himself, a trait that characterises the whole film and distinguishes the Iron Man franchise from the dark comic-book adaptations along the lines of The Dark Knight, which don't make light of the superhero mythos. Favreau doesn’t follow the trend of psychologically more intense comic-book movies. Iron Man 2 is darker solely in what happens to Stark’s body, not in what he goes through. This focus on the surface can be seen as the reason for the popularity of Stark and those like him, who know how to perform in front of television cameras (through which we also see the protagonist several times). That focus on the surface is also the reason that Scarlett Johansson, whose curves are manna for the eyes, has a generally superfluous role in the film. Mickey Rourke, who doesn’t talk much but speaks to the point, is also delightful, as is Gwyneth Paltrow, whose verbal shootouts with Downey are reminiscent of classic screwball comedies with their double entendres and timing, and the roughly two action scenes added in just for fun (since they gave us money for them...) are a joy to watch. Throw out abundant one-liners, look good doing it and quickly fade from memory. Mission accomplished. 75% (06/05/2013)

With Iron Man 2, director Jon Favreau excellently exploits the potential of the stellar cast, where even supporting roles look tailor-made for their actors – the one-eyed Samuel L. Jackson in a leather coat, a corrupt white-collar Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson getting in Blade-like fights. All of them, of course headed by Robert Downey Jr., seem to be enjoying themselves immensely (perhaps only the psychopathic Russian inventor played by Mickey Rourke could have used some more character development). But the story itself has absolutely nothing to engage the audience – there is practically no drama or tension and there are barely two action scenes, which take up about ten minutes of the two-hour running time (!). Actually, it is kind of a miracle how a comic-book adaptation with such a boring script can end up as a pleasant conversation movie. (27/04/2010)