I don’t want to dwell on these too much because there’s not enough of them to even give us a reasonable idea of critical response – let alone make or break the film, but since I’m not reviewing it, I feel more than free to take a look at the earliest reviews of Iron Man 2.
Since the review embargo seems to have been lifted (or outright ignored), maybe we’ll see Fure’s review on the site soon enough.
The first two spoil quite a bit, so read them at your own risk.
The Good
Harry over at Aint It Cool slobbered all over the film:
IRON MAN 2 is comic movie crack!
This is the money quote from the sprawling review, but the overall sentiment is that the movie is better than the first, that the action is incredible, that the characters have depth to them, and that the dialogue is razor sharp.
The Bad
All you really need to know from The Mirror’s review is that the reviewer hated the crap out of it:
What none of realized was that another disaster was about to unfold in front of our eyes, for Iron Man 2 is a travesty – a mind-numbingly dull, chaotic and often unwatchable muddle. It might even be the ultimate masterclass in how not to make a movie.
Strong words. Plus, on the mathematical front, the reviewer gave the film a single star. David Edwards called out the messiness of so many storylines, evoked Spider-Man 3’s villain problems, and went on to say that the scenes were all flat and uninteresting. It’s a review that, frankly, reads like a lot of the reviews of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.
The Mild
The first review on the face of the internet came from Hey You Guys Blog:
However I’m happy to say that the rest of Iron Man was a pretty damn good ride, spectacular in places with awesome action set pieces and in general a whole lot of fun but not without some worryingly boring, pointless and highly confusing moments.
This review is a balanced, positive review that recognizes some plot issues arising from using the film to develop another film’s (The Avengers) back story, but it looks like reviewer Gary Phillips enjoyed the film overall because of the action and the characters.
The Conclusion
I don’t really have one. Three reviews. Three different takes. One extreme, one also extreme, and one fairly positive. I’m sure we’ll see more soon, but for now, the first volleys are all over the place on this one. I have to assume that come opening weekend, you’ll be at the theater to make up your own mind regardless of what the internet says.
Related Topics: Iron Man
