Downey Jr., when he’s focused does gives a suitably excellent performance – subtly haunted as a man who’s convinced he’s about to die. Jackson and Clark Gregg seem to be acting in a more focused movie, their scenes and interactions with Tony keep the film from going entirely off the rails. are all over the place, and Mickey Rourke is in an entirely different dimension, the agents of SHIELD are far more subdued and, I think easier to watch. This doesn’t apply to everyone though: while Rockwell, Paltrow and Downey Jr.
The squabbling and squawking undermine what should be important emotional scenes, especially between Tony and Pepper, and just leaves the audience, or at least me, frustrated. The endless banter is fine for establishing chemistry and realism, but it get so tiresome when it’s impossible for anyone to deliver a line like a normal human being with no one interrupting them. The constant bickering, muttering and general weirdness in many of the performances in Iron Man 2 goes from good to grating so fast.
But what was cute in Iron Man gets really annoying here.
#Iron man 2 cast free#
With Jon Favreau back in the director’s chair, the actors were given free reign to improvise and talk over each other as much as they liked and just act up a storm.
#Iron man 2 cast upgrade#
Iron Man 2 added Don Cheadle (definite upgrade from Terrence Howard), Sam Rockwell and Micky Rourke to the cast in a hope of capturing that name prestige. In Iron Man that meant stacking the deck with Oscar winners and nominees like Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr, and Jeff Bridges. It also continued the tradition of casting the best and brightest wherever they could. And Iron Man 2 does have that balance of fun and gravitas that makes it an easy watch. Iron Man 2 doubled down on many of the things that made Iron Man great: taking on a comic book hero with a deft mix of seriousness and fun that’s now the model for Marvel films.