Iron Man 2 Review Round-Up

Iron Man 2 is rushing madly to theaters and with only a week to go, reviews are already spilling out onto the Internet. Most interesting, perhaps, is that no two reviews are alike here, ranging from laudatory and effusive to downright harsh.  After checking out UGO's own review, read on for a laundry list of reviews currently padding out Iron Man 2's standing on the Tomatometer!

IGN

The filmmakers' loose style of making the Iron Man films may be too evident at times, especially during the aforementioned sequence. Steven Soderbergh may be able to wing it in the Ocean's films, but that's a dangerous method for a movie like Iron Man 2 to adopt. I understand wanting to maintain a similar breezy tone to the relatively happy-go-lucky original film, but in a story such as this -- with so many subplots and spin-off seeds to be sewn -- the filmmakers could have been a bit more vigilant and disciplined in their execution. As the saying goes, sometimes too much of anything isn't always a good thing.

The Hollywood Reporter

Well, that didn't take long. Everything fun and terrific about Iron Man, a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, Iron Man 2 has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines...For a film riding a wave of unbridled achievement from its predecessor, Iron Man 2 begins with a curious sense of panic. Characters talk at once. Hesitant story lines launch in all directions. The soundtrack and music clang away, but onscreen, little happens until a big set-piece at a Grand Prix race nearly 20 minutes into the movie.

CHUD

Favreau has the action thing down pat, and he doesn't lose sight of his characters or tone while delivering very fun action beats. I hope he comes back for Iron Man 3 but this time really develops the hell out of the script. I hope he gets the thing down to a finely tuned piece of crackerjack storytelling, and that he finally gets a chance to bring together not just great characters and good action but also a propulsive, involving and awesome story.

Coming Soon

It may be hard for anyone to claim that Iron Man 2 is nearly as mindblowingly amazing as the first movie was for its time, though it's still better than 95% of the movies based on Marvel Comics characters. Favreau clearly knows how to make a fun and entertaining summer movie, and the clever introduction of new characters and the masterfully-realized action scenes should make up for the film's dialogue-heavy lulls. High expectations from the first movie may leave some wanting, but there's enough brilliance on display to leave you wanting more as well.

Variety

Iron Man 2 isn't as much fun as its predecessor, but by the time the smoke clears, it'll do. Much like The Dark Knight, this Paramount release brings an enormous stash of goodwill to the party, thanks to a well-crafted origin tale whose popularity fueled anticipation for a follow-up. Yet while the first go-round for this lesser-known Marvel hero benefited from its freshness and visual flair, the beats here are more familiar, the pacing more uneven. Given the demand, though, that will hardly matter, and this armored adventure promises to be a money-making machine that clicks on all cylinders.

Ain't It Cool News

Iron Man 2 is comic movie crack! I remember how I was after I saw Spider-Man 2. It felt like the world finally fucking got it. I thought we'd always have films increasingly badass from that point - and Spider-Man 3 was not better. And I got a tad sad. When you see a comic book movie that is absolutely the best of what that character can be on screen - it is euphoric. Something to celebrate, to revel in. I've been a comic geek my entire life. I remember when Bob Layton really began blowing my mind with Iron Man. This is that... but on film... with hundreds of talented awesome artists, technicians and craftsmen all supporting that vision.

HitFix

Iron Man 2 is, in every possible way, issue two of a comic book.  It doesn't have to spend time setting up the origin of the character, and it doesn't feel the need to resolve every single story thread introduced in this one film.  There's a sense that everyone's settling into this series and thinking big.  It is just as confident as the first film, and incredibly aggressive in the way it handles story and characterization.

Cinematical

It may sound like it, but to call Iron Man 2 the Matrix Reloaded of superhero movies is not meant to be an insult. Like that highly-anticipated follow-up to the Wachowskis' runaway blockbuster, Jon Favreau's sequel essentially offers more of what at least superficially made the first successful, although rather than dubious philosophy and bullet-time cinematography, Iron Man 2 features a wealth of Robert Downey Jr., a general off-the-cuff sense of humor, and high-tech showdowns between dudes in robot suits...At the same time, of course, the line is seldom well-defined between fans wanting more of a good thing and getting too much. Interestingly, albeit disappointingly, Favreau's film tests the tensile strength of the threshold between the two, crafting a chockablock actioner that manages to deliver what's asked while still somehow falling short of expectations.