Iron Man 2

I watched Iron Man 2, starring Robert Downey Jr., today, and it was better than I had hoped.

One of my fears with superhero sequels is the seemingly irresistible need film makers have to stuff ever more bad guys in the same 2-hour slot -- though perhaps the earlier Batman and latest Spiderman movie series are unduly influencing my memories. I just think stuffing a film with more antagonists just risks short-changing the characters I went to the cinema to see. There's limited screen time, and obviously the more villain origin stories you need to show, the less time you have for everyone else, especially the protagonists. I watched Batman Returns to see Bruce Wayne, not Catwoman or Penguin. Likewise, I watched Spider-man 3 to see Peter Parker, not Goblin, Venom or Sandman. One major villain that's competent and interesting is much better than having to divide screen time among two or three.

Whew. Finally got that off my chest. Anywhoo, prior to watching Iron Man 2 I had feared director Jon Favreau may have succumbed to excess-villain-itis, or its variant too-many-new-characters-with-origin-stories-itis, but my fears turned out to be needless. You could say Iron Man 2 had two villains, but appropriately Favreau only spent origin-story time on the competent one.

I don't want to spoil anything too much, so here's just some random thoughts and comments. Spoilers may follow, though I'll try to keep them few and minor.

• 20 minutes of previews!? Ugh.
• There were roughly 25-30 people in the first Saturday matinee on the second weekend of Iron Man 2.
• I thought it apt that Formula One's Monaco race is the same weekend I watched Iron Man 2.
• I can understand why Stark wanted Rhodes to take a suit, but isn't he afraid the U.S. military will be able to reverse engineer the technology?
• The climactic battle was a little anti-climactic. There was good build up, but in the end there was too much flying around and not enough brawling.
• Isn't Nick Fury supposed to have a cigar? What about stubble?
• If you don't want Stark reading about the "Avengers Initiative", then don't leave a folder labeled, "Avengers Initiative", sitting out in the open while you make Stark wait. What kind of security is that?
• These days, I wonder why anyone bothers leaving before the credits finish rolling. Especially given the track record with Iron Man. I was the only one who stayed and hence was able to see the final scene.
• For my thoughts about watching a movie at SilverCity Ancaster.
  

I think the first Iron Man is the superior movie, but Iron Man 2 still gets 4 out of 5 stars.