Iron Man 2 (2010)

I labored over what rating to give this film, I really did. I didn’t buy into the hype of its solid predecessor, probably to the ire of a few comic geeks and fanboys, but I still acknowledged its merits. Now shed of the restrictions that come with an origin story first installment, the Iron Man franchise is given a chance to expand its territory and flex a little summer movie muscle. Fortunately, Iron Man 2 doesn’t fall flat like so many sequels before it have.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) has an awful lot on his plate. Since revealing himself as Iron Man, he has spent six months using his unbeatable suit to bring us as close to world peace as possible. What thanks does he get for this? Firstly, the US government is jealous and trying to force Stark to hand over his suit designs for military use. Second, a Russian man named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) creates his own arc reactor and deadly weapons to exact revenge on the Stark family name. Oh, and there’s also the nasty little fact that palladium core of Stark’s mini-arc reactor is poisoning him, with death just around the corner.

There are other bumps in the road as well. A shifty defense contractor is willing to hire Vanko as a consultant in developing new mechanized drones to one-up Iron Man. Stark also continues his rocky relationship with his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Finally, he’s being hounded by a mysterious organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. With all of this going on, what the heck is a superhero to do?

Here’s my beef with Iron Man 2- the main conflict between Stark and Vanko (and later a team of artillery-laden drones) is more or less a retread. The fact that Iron Man has brought about world peace illustrates the fact that the only thing that can possibly pose a threat to him is another super-suit. In Iron Man, second-in-command of Stark Industries Obadiah Stane built a similar arc-reactor-fueled suit in an attempt to take out Stark/Iron Man. This time around it’s Vanko with a suit-like weapon and an eventual full suit of his own.

The only difference here is motivation. Stane sought to eliminate Stark because his reckless behavior and crisis of conscience were bad for business. Vanko just wants revenge because his father was cast away with no credit for designing the original arc reactor with Tony Stark’s dad back in the day. Revenge is a perfectly acceptable motive (and honestly, it’s way cooler than greed) but you can’t deny that the means of exacting that revenge are a smidge redundant. It works for this sequel but Iron Man is going to need to come up against a different kind of villain in the future if the series is going to stay fresh.

Vanko isn’t the only storyline in the film, which is a helpful distraction. The pursuit of Stark by S.H.I.E.L.D. is interesting because it throws very different personalities together that create sparks and some witty banter. His struggle to find a new power source for the arc reactor in his chest is interesting and it fits the mold of superhero sequels in that it makes Stark reassess himself and his priorities. Fortunately this (and a little daddy issue resolution) is as serious as Iron Man 2 gets.

Batman Begins ushered in a new era of ‘serious’ comic book films. Iron Man is a breath of fresh air because, while still playing things rather serious and realistic, the filmmakers pump in a lot of sarcasm and fun into the mix. Instead of sulking over his new-found responsibilities, Tony Stark embraces his role as Iron Man. He plays it up for the camera and genuinely loves what he does. He’s a bit narcissistic but that’s part of the character’s allure.

Another reason Iron Man is so different is that he doesn’t have a secret identity. There’s no duality here like with Batman, Superman or Spider-Man. Tony Stark has one consistent personality in and out of the suit. He’s not trying to blend in. He’s already told the world he is Iron Man and is milking it for all it’s worth. None of the other major superheroes walk around exposed like this and it makes for a completely different story experience.

Chances are, Iron Man 2 is everything you were hoping for in a sequel- it’s bigger, louder and every bit as fun, if not more so. It’s not as deep as the first installment, but did it have to be? We know what Stark stands for- peace, justice and a party every other night. The filmmakers aren’t bogged down with crafting an origin for half of the film so they fill it with what the summer movie crowd likes- explosions, special effects and a little bit of silliness. I mean, seriously- Daft Punk’s “Robot Rock” playing during a fight scene? Chuckle City my friend.

In many ways, Iron Man is the ideal summertime popcorn superhero. Deep thinkers can hold off for the next Batman movie and fanboys can always latch onto the next B-list or lower superhero flick that gets made. Iron Man made it cool for superheroes to be a little corny again. Iron Man 2 feels like the kind of movie the filmmakers wanted to produce the first go around but couldn’t because they literally had to do an origin story. The plot is undoubtedly a tad repetitive but I think I’d rather watch this sequel again over the first one any day. Besides- I can’t think of another time when I have ever seen my mother-in-law bobbing her head to AC/DC songs. That alone has got to count for something.

RATING: 3.25 out of 5

Tropic Thunder (2008)

Crass, crude, offensive, politically incorrect- pick any negative adjective you like and it could probably be applied to Ben Stiller’s action-comedy Tropic Thunder. Despite any complaints people may have about the content of this film, Stiller manages to balance the potentially offensive with the undeniably amusing.

A Vietnam War veteran’s book is being turned into a major Hollywood film. The dysfunctional cast includes Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller)- a former action star trying to resurrect his dying career; Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr.)- an Australian method actor looking to snag his sixth Oscar by undergoing a pigment alteration treatment in order to play a tragic black soldier; Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson)- a popular rapper looking to segue into screen stardom; Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black)- a drug-abusing comedian looking to break his type casting; and Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel)- a young actor getting his first big film role. Personalities clash, the first-time director is in over his head, and the production is weeks behind schedule and in danger of going over budget.

Profane studio executive Les Grossman (Tom Cruise) orders the director to pull it together or his career will be finished before it even starts. Taking the grizzly Nam vet’s advice, the director rigs hidden cameras in a remote Southeast Asian jungle rigged with explosives for special effects. They then drop the actors in the middle of the jungle with a map that will lead them to a helicopter and a list of scenes to act out along the way. Armed with prop rifles that only shoot blanks, the squabbling actors find themselves in real war-like conditions when they discover they’ve been dropped into the middle of the Golden Triangle- a hotbed of heroin production and dangerous drug lords.

The film starts out with fake previews and commercials for the various cast members. Alpa Chino has an ad for his brand of energy drink, Speedman gets a preview for his latest installment to an action franchise, Portnoy has a preview for a flatulence-happy family akin to The Klumps, and Lazarus gets a plug for his latest Oscar-bait film about a pair of 18th Century gay monks. While seemingly random at first, they set the tone for the kinds of characters were going to be watching for the next 100 minutes. In hindsight, I must admit that the amount of absurdity packed into these shorts is more consistently funny than the rest of the film.

Don’t get me wrong- the rest of the film is funny but it’s not continuously funny. All of the actors play their parts well and it’s beyond fun watching the unabashed skewering of the major types of actor egos and attitudes. Stiller and company go for broke and hold absolutely nothing back in their relentless actor-bashing. This leads to several politically incorrect discussions that ruffled special interest feathers, while also making some very interesting observations about the industry.

Case in point- Lazarus admonishes Speedman for going “full retard” with a serious role he took to gain credibility as a dramatic actor. He dispenses a list of actors who went ‘part-retard’ and won awards but those who go ‘full retard’ never do. Offensive? Possibly, but the conversation is about belittling actors, not belittling those with disabilities. Plus, it’s an R-rated comedy for crying out loud!

The other controversial element is Robert Downey, Jr. playing in blackface. Technically though, Downey is playing an actor who is playing in blackface. That doesn’t make it any less shocking but it opens the door for some hilarious back and forth between Lazarus and Chino- the real black actor. You can’t help but admire Downey’s devotion to such an absurd concept. He shows no sign of hesitation and delivers every line with the utmost seriousness. The part of Lazarus could have sunk this film had it been put in hands less capable than Downey’s. He and Tom Cruise really steal the show.

Tropic Thunder is laced with references to war movies and action flicks but this isn’t Hot Shots redux. Instead of merely referencing scenes from popular genre films, Stiller takes time to build a satire of those moments. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a few throw-away jokes and deliberately-placed clichés though. Sadly, it’s this same lampooning of war movies where the film gets stale. Predictably, the actors have to band together and learn to function as a unit, just like real soldiers would. It’s a necessary component of the story because it helps the actors break down some of their barriers and pretensions but it also slows down the humor.

While Tropic Thunder is a pretty good film, it’s built the wrong way. As the film progresses, the characters get more serious and bond, which causes the film to decrease in humor. You want a film to be consistently funny the whole way through, if not get funnier towards the end. While it may achieve the right kind of action movie climax, it fails to reach a comedy climax. There are plenty of moments that will leave you in stitches but most of them come before the half-way point. It’s worth seeing, if you can stomach a mountain of obscenities and political incorrectness, but it doesn’t quite live up to the hype.

RATING: 3 out of 5