New bad guys a good addition to 'Iron Man 2'
Can you have too many villains in a film? Oh, absolutely, says "Iron Man 2" director Jon Favreau, who may be tempting fate by adding three "name" actors - Mickey Rourke (Ivan Vanko), Sam Rockwell (Justin Hammer) and Scarlett Johansson (Natasha) - as characters of varied shadiness.
"You want to be sure you don't suffer from multi-villainitis," Favreau said. "That's been the downfall of many other superhero franchises."
WHEN NEW MEETS OLD But Favreau says he is looking at his three imported stars as key parts of an equation in the movie, which opens today. The givens are the three main characters returning from the first film - Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle, this time).
"I was more concerned about the interpersonal dynamic and how the presence of Natasha would affect Tony and Pepper, because what I didn't want to do is make this film episodic, like just another episode of a TV series.
"So, one way to approach that is shift the dynamic with the introduction of new characters. So you have Justin Hammer inserted into the Tony-Rhodey relationship, and you have Natasha Romanov inserted into the Tony-Pepper relationship. When done right, a superhero movie has the character's personal life mirroring what's happening in their superhero world, and sometimes you have to force things to do it. In this case, I'd say, we found an organic way to do it."
DOES 'THE END' MEAN THE END? Meanwhile, don't expect a cliffhanger at the end of "Iron Man 2." Favreau says the ambitious plan by Marvel Studios to create a latticework of mythology that connects all of its hero franchises eliminates the "to be continued" option.
"I want it to be completely self-contained, because a lot is going to happen between now and the next chapter. You've got 'Thor,' you've got 'Captain America,' and you've got 'Avengers.' I don't know how all of that is going to impact this little handmade story of ours that we've been doing over the last two films."
Marvel Studios is attempting something unprecedented in the Hollywood blockbuster sector: to make all of its films fit into a larger mosaic, where the same actors and characters will appear again and again to create a sort of connective tissue. It began with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) popping up in "Iron Man" and Tony Stark in "The Incredible Hulk." But being on a team means sharing the ball; the "Iron Man" franchise will sit on the bench for the next few years to make way for the other movies in Marvel's still-narrow pipeline.
What the reviewers are saying
In his 21/2-star review of "Iron Man 2," which appeared in yesterday's Newsday, Rafer Guzmán noted that "as in the first 'Iron Man,' the main attraction here isn't the plot but Robert Downey Jr., who again uses snark and charm to lubricate this slightly rusty Marvel hero." (Read the entire review at newsday.com/movies.) Here is a sampling of other reviews:
* "Iron Man" is starting to feel mechanical, a piece of business Marvel needs to transact to get to that next piece of business.
* A curious, off-center sequel.
* It doesn't come close to the emotional heft of those two rare 2s that outclassed their ones: "Superman 2" and "Spider-Man 2." But "Iron Man 2" hums along quite nicely.
- New York magazine
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