• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Bisexual ‘Love Island’ Star Megan Barton Hanson Rakes In $1.5 Million On OnlyFans
  • Judge tosses suit from 36 congregations looking to leave Methodist church over LGBTQ
  • Howard Stern Yearns For Comedian Jon Stewart To Run For President: ‘The Most Trusted Newsman In The Country’

Movies: Iron Men. There’s So Many of You!

Nathaniel Rogers May 7, 2010

More. More. More. There's more villains, more plotlines, more iron men, more action setpieces and more commercials. Yes, commercials. We'll get to that in a sec.

Picture 8 The villains number four. Sam Rockwell is Stark's weapons dealing nemesis Justin Hammer. Mickey Rourke (making great use of The Wrestler career momentum) is the Russian physicist genius "Whiplash" who builds his own arc reactor and nearly kills Stark with it in the first action setpiece. Garry Shandling is a Senator hellbent on taking Stark's suit into US custody. And, depending on how you read the film, Tony Stark is also an evil bastard or at least his own worst enemy.

There aremore stories here than any film could do justice to. They tend to crash into each other just like men encased in armor are also prone to do. People are already bitching about the movie's talkiness but the constant chatter isn't the problem at all, especially not with this many fine actors assembled. They sell the broad character outlines with pizazz.

The problem is in both the structure of the plotting and the abundance of it. Stark's iron suit is poisoning him. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) gets a huge promotion she's ill equipped for (hi sexism!). Rhodey (Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard) has a crisis of conscience and keeps flip-flopping sides. Justin Hammer is trying to nab a lucrative new arms contract. Whiplash is plotting revenge for ancient events involving Tony's father Howard Stark (John Slattery) who is himself sending secret messages from the grave. There are senate hearings about the iron man weapon. The new secretary Natalie (Scarlett Johansson) is not what she appears to be. Finally — though I'm sure I'm forgetting something in the plot pile up — Nick Fury keeps popping up to sell the upcoming Avengers movie talk about "The Avengers Initiative".

This last plotline is a shameless commercial. The Avengers (coming to a theater near you in 2012?) is the most awkwardly integrated story element. The screenplay from actor Justin Theroux has the right idea about grafting it onto the main plot but it still juts out awkwardly, always working against the movie's ease and speed. In the end, perhaps due to its annoying frequency, it plays like a cynical con job "Here's another movie you'll love to see! And another! And another!" It's fitting that the movie takes place at and during the annual Stark Expo because like the grandiose corporateevent that houses it, this movie is an expensive commercial. While attempting to sell Iron Man 3, The Avengers and two other superhero films (I shan't spoil which), the film forgets to really close the sale on Iron Man 2. 

Picture 9

That said, it's still as reasonably fun as something this unwieldy can be. The action scenes are pedestrian, failing to bring much grace or rhythm to the iron clanging and palladium banging, but that was a problem in the original, too. They just don't soar. You can thank the crisp colors, good performances, genre goodwill and light touch that the movie still works. While this sequel doesn't feel effortless like its predecessor, its best moments are arguably stronger. Just don't complain about the talking when you leave. Iron Man 2 has the good sense to keep placing its famous faces front and center, even during the metallic mayhem. Without Rockwell's desperate verbal diarrhea, Rourke's menacing Russian threats, Downey Jr's charismatic yet abrasive self-regard, and Paltrow's screwball frustrations, this behemoth wouldn't fly at all.

Picture 34

GuestbloggerNATHANIEL ROGERS
…prefers air conditioned movie theaters to hot beaches in the summer. He blogs daily at the Film Experience.

Your Feature Presentation
Last week, we prepped for the summer movie season by pondering good times at the multiplex with summer playthings Tony Stark and Carrie Bradshaw (Sold Separately!). Sarah Jessica Parker will make us wait as Carrie is fashionably late; Threemore weeks until she flicks her witty tongue, tosses that glorious mane, and buys several more pairs ofshoes. Robert Downey Jr's billionaire weapons manufacturer, on the other hand, has already returned. With IRON MAN 2 playing to sold out crowds everywhere there's no more wondering what the summer movie season will look like.

Not that it was ever anything like a secret what Iron Man 2 would offer up. This blockbuster's shiny surface reflects Hollywood's sequel mandate back at us. Their answer is always 'more! more! more!' before anyone has asked a question.

Ironman2
Like: Do you think Ryan Reynolds made ScarJo wear this at home after the shoot?

More AFTER THE JUMP…

Topics: Actor, Fashion, Film/TV/Stream, News More Posts About: Film, Nathaniel Rogers, News, Robert Downey Jr.

Related Posts
  • Wes Bentley: Robert Downey Jr. saved my life
  • Armie Hammer Quits Cayman Islands Timeshare Job, Returns To L.A. & Living With Robert Downey Jr.: A Little Gossip. A Whole Lot To Unpack Here.
  • LGBTQ Pro Wrestling Documentary ‘Out In The Ring’ Wins Best Canadian Feature at Inside Out Toronto Film Festival
  • Judge tosses suit from 36 congregations looking to leave Methodist church over LGBTQ

    Judge tosses suit from 36 congregations looking to leave Methodist church over LGBTQ

    Published by The Charlotte Observer CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A lawsuit by dozens of conservative United Methodist churches in western North Carolina wishing to break away from their governing body was thrown out of court Tuesday by …Read More »
  • Howard Stern Yearns For Comedian Jon Stewart To Run For President: ‘The Most Trusted Newsman In The Country’

    Howard Stern Yearns For Comedian Jon Stewart To Run For President: ‘The Most Trusted Newsman In The Country’

    Published by OK Magazine mega Howard Stern knows who should run for president in 2024: former The Daily Show anchor Jon Stewart. “When Jon Stewart hosted The Daily Show, they said that he was the most …Read More »
  • Arkansas enacts law restricting school bathroom use by transgender people

    Arkansas enacts law restricting school bathroom use by transgender people

    Published by Reuters (Reuters) – Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday signed a law targeting the trans community, prohibiting transgender people from using the restroom that matches their gender identity at public schools. The bill …Read More »
  • Madonna Lets Loose On Horseback As She Mocks Haters With Remix Of Her Viral Grammys Speech: Watch

    Madonna Lets Loose On Horseback As She Mocks Haters With Remix Of Her Viral Grammys Speech: Watch

    Published by OK Magazine MEGA If you can’t beat them, join them! Madonna hopped on the hater train and mocked her critics by re-sharing a remix someone made of her now-viral Grammys speech. “If they call …Read More »
Previous Post: « Obama Acknowledges Gay Moms in Mother’s Day Proclamation
Next Post: Country Music Singer Claims He Was Misquoted By Chely Wright »

Primary Sidebar

Adjacent News

  • ‘Our best face’: How Trump-backing Jan. 6 ‘marshals’ ditched their pink vests and helped stage an insurrection

    ‘Our best face’: How Trump-backing Jan. 6 ‘marshals’ ditched their pink vests and helped stage an insurrection

  • Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill author facing up to 35 years in prison

    Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill author facing up to 35 years in prison

  • Trump’s ‘nutjob’ allies are pushing for Mar-a-Lago standoff with feds: report

    Trump’s ‘nutjob’ allies are pushing for Mar-a-Lago standoff with feds: report

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Gwyneth Paltrow says rectal ozone therapy has been ‘very helpful’

    Gwyneth Paltrow says rectal ozone therapy has been ‘very helpful’

  • Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana were arrested for impersonating police officers

    Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana were arrested for impersonating police officers

  • Samantha Ronson reacts to the news that her ex Lindsay Lohan is pregnant

    Samantha Ronson reacts to the news that her ex Lindsay Lohan is pregnant

RSS Partner Links

  • An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.

Most Recent

  • Bisexual ‘Love Island’ Star Megan Barton Hanson Rakes In $1.5 Million On OnlyFans

    Bisexual ‘Love Island’ Star Megan Barton Hanson Rakes In $1.5 Million On OnlyFans

  • Judge tosses suit from 36 congregations looking to leave Methodist church over LGBTQ

    Judge tosses suit from 36 congregations looking to leave Methodist church over LGBTQ

  • Howard Stern Yearns For Comedian Jon Stewart To Run For President: ‘The Most Trusted Newsman In The Country’

    Howard Stern Yearns For Comedian Jon Stewart To Run For President: ‘The Most Trusted Newsman In The Country’

  • Arkansas enacts law restricting school bathroom use by transgender people

    Arkansas enacts law restricting school bathroom use by transgender people

  • Madonna Lets Loose On Horseback As She Mocks Haters With Remix Of Her Viral Grammys Speech: Watch

    Madonna Lets Loose On Horseback As She Mocks Haters With Remix Of Her Viral Grammys Speech: Watch

  • Wendy Williams Spotted Drinking At NYC Gay Bar Months After Rehab Stint

    Wendy Williams Spotted Drinking At NYC Gay Bar Months After Rehab Stint

  • JoJo Siwa realised she was gay at Disney World

    JoJo Siwa realised she was gay at Disney World

  • Biden picks his 2024 path — right down the middle

    Biden picks his 2024 path — right down the middle

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×