"THRASH AT THE MOVIES" -- 'IRON MAN 2'

‘Iron Man 2’ loses its storytelling amidst a bevy of visually stunning effects. Steven Thrash Benton Courier Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) returns to the big screen, as his alter ego Iron Man is forced to thwart the vengeful Ivan Vanko/Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) in Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man 2.” The highly publicized sequel offers up as much gut wrenching action as “Iron Man” (2008), but this time around the special-effects driven narrative will leave audiences exceedingly disappointed. The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell and Samuel L. Jackson; Jon Favreau directs. Vanko blames Stark Industries for the death of his father, so the disgruntled Russian takes aim at destroying Tony’s life and legacy. Ivan develops his own miniature arc reactor, similar to what powers Iron Man’s suit, and creates a harness armed with vicious electrical whips. Ivan’s revenge is spoiled though, as Iron Man manages to defeat Whiplash at a lavish street race in Monaco.

Justin Hammer (Rockwell) is Stark’s competition in the manufacturing of weapons, and he has been unable to compete with Tony and the Iron Man creation. Seeing the technology Whiplash created, after the Monaco attack, Hammer forms an uneasy alliance with Vanko in order to put his company on the map and “make Iron Man look like an antique.” While these treacherous villains gun for him, Stark also faces the prospect of an untimely death. The power source in Tony’s chest, that keeps him alive and fuels his Iron Man guise, is slowly poisoning his blood stream. While racing to find a cure, Stark must face off against these dangerous new adversaries and an army of Iron Man-like drones. But Tony finds new allies in the War Machine (Cheadle), a militarized Iron Man suit, the Black Widow (Johansson) and Nick Fury (Jackson). First, the good news is that the film is a special effects extravaganza that will delight the senses. While a compelling story is inexplicably missing, like an absentee landlord, the movie offers up some awe inspiring battle scenes. The clash in Monaco between Iron man and Whiplash is a fantastic, however short lived, thrill ride that will leave you begging for more.

My only complaint with the sequence is when a series of cars explode behind the deviant Russian. The green/blue screen effects here are much too obvious, as you can visually discern how fake this one particular shot is. Whiplash miraculously evades the massive explosion, but the editing here makes him appear inserted in a much larger canvas of carnage. It’s as bogus of a special effects shot as I’ve seen in superhero films in the past 10 years. Second, the acting is very good, especially the performance of Downey Jr. However, the actors have very little to go on this time around. Snazzy lines of dialogue and clever one liners that really exemplified Stark’s immature and egotistic nature in the first film are more obtuse this time around. The comic timing is clearly off and the soul of the film suffers because of it. Early on in the film, Johansson adds a delicious new side to what is a love triangle between the Black Widow, Stark and Pepper Potts (Paltrow). And although Sam Jackson is again performing a small role that doesn’t take advantage of his A-List acting ability, he is up to the task. Fury provides a great counterpoint for Stark to feed off of and confide in. It’s this relationship that helps our conflicted hero come through in the clutch.

Lastly, the film is clearly an action oriented vehicle and the story is left unattended on the back burner. “Iron Man 2” plays more like an action-packed Saturday morning cartoon, albeit a grossly overpriced one, that caters more to children than adults. Be sure and sit through the entire film though, because there is a scene following the credits. An outlook that foreshadows yet another member to be recruited for the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization and their evolving Avengers initiative. As cliché as it might be, here’s a clue to the identity of the new Marvel superhero: “It’s hammer time.” -- Writer Steven Thrash screens the latest movies and gives you the inside scoop on which films to see or snub. Thrash attended Bryant High School, before pursuing his degree in Mass Communications at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and he currently makes Benton his home.

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