On the Lack of Mettle in Iron Man 2

The recent Marvel universe on film (with the exception of the Blade series) has always been more child friendly, smoother around the edges, than the DC world. The collection of films with Spider-Man, Hulk, The Fantastic Four, the X-Men and now Iron Man all take place in a glossy, recognisable world where threat is seen, but rarely felt and where danger could be around the corner, but is unlikely to place in harms way any innocent civilians.

Compare this to the recent DC films of Batman (going back to Tim Burton) and the Watchmen. Dark, gritty worlds set apart from our own reality, but instantly realistic. Even DC’s Superman Returns (2006) contains far more humanity than Iron Man 2 and moments of suspenseful threat. Quite an achievement for a character almost completely invulnerable. Rather than take a courageous step outside the formulaic, money spinning Marvel set up to challenge the likes of The Dark Knight (2008) and Watchmen (2009), Iron Man 2 sticks to worn out, unoriginal clichés. The script is weak, but disguises its weaknesses behind good casting. Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke and Gwyneth Paltrow give the story life, while Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury does his best Jules Winnfield impression, leading us to wonder what superheroes do with their time off. Watch Tarantino movies?

What raised Iron Man (2008) (another formulaic comic book adaptation) above the realms of the average was the cocky, slightly hyper, agitated performance of Robert Downey Jnr. How, in the scope of three films this has become as frustrating as it is in Iron Man 2, is difficult to say. Downey Jnr’s performances in The Soloist (2009) and Tropic Thunder (2008) were fantastic, yet here the arrogance grates and the overexcited agitation that previously added layers to the character here becomes an irritation. A scene where Tony Stark attempts to confess to Pepper Potts could lead to annoyed shouts of, “Just Speak”.

Iron Man 2 will make a lot of people a lot of money and further strengthen Marvel’s desire to go forward with The Avengers films and spin-offs for all those characters. And from this, good films may come, even a great film. But to achieve this, a writer, director or actor needs the mettle to take these films out of what has become a very profitable comfort zone.