First IRON MAN 2 reviews are in; disappointing and dull is the verdict!!

By Matt Holmes / June 25, 2011

Obsessed With Film's Chief Film Critic Mike Edwards will see 'Iron Man 2' in a little over two hours time, which personally is the kind of harsh public revelation that could potentially down-spiral me into a super-villain of Mickey Rourke proportions. "Mike Edwards ruined my childhood!" "He saw 'Iron Man 2' forty-eight hours before me, he shamed me! He shall pay my wrath! Just wait until he gets a load of me", etc etc. Until Mike delivers his two cents (you can read his review of the original here btw), you can occupy yourself by reading the hubbub from the rest of the web-sphere, as critics screenings began last night. The rather surprising, and worrying stench which once sprung upon a movie is difficult to wash away - is that not everyone is in love with this sequel. Not by a long shot. Jon Favreau's original was a critics darling (93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), a breath of fresh air from the Marvel studio who hadn't turned in a film that lived up to it's character's comic book origins since 2004's 'Spider-Man 2'. But rather than being 'Spidey 2', Favreau's second Marvel outing is said to be more 'Spider-Man 3'. Oh dear. I'm sure there's no need to panic and reboot the series as one rather useless blog entry suggests has to be done, but what the reviews hint at is a potential problem in too much planning. The problem seems to be 'Iron Man 2" tries to pack in too much... too much dialogue, too much exposition for future movies (the main one at least two to three years away) and the movie you have paid to see right now, really suffers. Before the lynching starts, rather predictably, we will begin with the one overtly positive review from Harry Knowles. Have caution in reading his full review as he gives almost a play-by-play of the first two acts but there's no spoilers in this excerpt...

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. The only problem with IRON MAN 2 is this. It really does throw a challenge to Kenneth Branagh on THOR, to Joe Johnston on CAPTAIN AMERICA and Joss Whedon on THE AVENGERS. IRON MAN 2 is in the tradition of the great 2nd films in the series we love the second films from. You know the titles. This will be like those experiences... where you were scared that it was going to be watered down, you were worried that there was going to be too much to juggle, when you were terrified it was just going to pander to kids. No. IRON MAN 2 is made for us - all of us.

Kirk Honeycutt at 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.

Brian Lowry at Variety;

"Iron Man 2" isn't as much fun as its predecessor, but by the time the smoke clears, it'll do. 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.

Our friends at HeyUGuys...

Iron Man 2 thankfully just about pulls it off, but only just. It€™s a strangely paced film and suffers at times from incredibly long exposition and poorly contrived story lines that seem to be added to no doubt develop the Avengers storyline rather than the Iron Man 2 story that I wanted to see. You€™ll see what I mean after about 4-5 scenes throughout littered with Shield/Avengers plot developments that all seemed horribly squeezed in to setup characters for a film that will happen in 2-3 years time. 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.

Total Film called it a movie of two halves;

Around 40 minutes in, Iron Man 2 is shaping up to be the best comic-book movie ever. Robert Downey Jr is nailing every scene as returning hero Tony Stark, Scarlett Johansson has made a slinky impression as his new assistant Natalie and Mickey Rourke€™s Whiplash €“ a heavily tatted Russian with a grudge against Robert as big as his biceps €“ has brought the Monaco Grand Prix to a devastating halt with his electric cat o€™ nine tails. So far, director Jon Favreau and Tropic Thunder scribe Justin Theroux have not put a foot wrong. If this keeps up, you think, we may just have another X2 or Dark Knight on our hands. Because the next hour of Favreau€™s follow-up to his 2008 hit is surprisingly dull €“ a wasteland of nothing much that makes you wonder if the dodgy mechanics imperilling Tony€™s life have somehow spread to the camera...It€™s as if Favreau has forgotten how to make an action blockbuster and has defaulted to Swingers.

The Daily Mirror, often known to hype up tabloid stories, goes way over the top and calls it a

disaster...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.

Check back tonight for the first Obsessed With Film verdict.