Iron Man 2

For some reason this movie had not been getting the greatest critic reviews. I do not understand that at all. I thought the movie was very enjoyable and a successful sequel in the series.

For anyone who has seen the first Iron Man you can expect much of the same in this movie. Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark like he is meant for the part. He has the same sarcastic wit and self-confidence that is evident in his other movie roles. Gwyeneth Paltrow, as Pepper Potts, has a comes more to the forefront in the sequel. I also personally love that Jon Favreau is the driver for Stark/Potts, and that he gets into the action a little bit. You have to respect the director for that, even though Jon has done plenty of acting himself.

Normally in when they replace someone in a sequel with a different actor/actress I am very upset. However, Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard in Iron Man 2 as War Machine/Lt. Rhodes made me happy. This is similar to what happened with Maggie Gylenhal in the Dark Night.

Samuel L. Jackson playing Nick Fury has a bigger role, and it leads all the viewers into wanting The Avengers movie to come out immediately. Scarlett Johansson also showed up with some impressive stunt work, along with her always gorgeous looks.

All in all it was a well done sequel. The plot is not too convoluted to follow. The new villain, played by Mickey Rourke, is very impressive and fun to watch. The action scenes are all entertaining but they do not completely drive the movie. The only thing that I wished for leaving the theater was a longer final fight scene.

Also, make sure to watch after the credits!! It is short, but worth it.

The makers of this film held nothing back. When it works, as it does here, it rekindles even a cynic's movie love. So kudos to Downey, Paltrow, Cheadle, Scar-Jo, Rockwell, Rourke and especially Favreau. What a film! It is a sight to behold. Every scene was captivating, whether it was full on armor action or the charismatic "down time" delivered by the best cast possible. Isn't that what movies are suppose to be about? It's good to see the response to the movie has been, for the most part, positive. I've noticed that sometimes expectations are unreasonable or some fans are too attached to their comic book preconceived notions. (X-Men and Wolverine fans I'm looking right at you!) Iron Man 2 stayed close enough to its roots and I hope most judge it as a film first. If you do, I'm almost certain that everyone will enjoy it as much as I did.

It easily fulfilled and then exceeded all of my expectations. The only thing I worry about is that they may be setting expectations for that Avengers movie too high. How can it possibly live up to the standard these movies are setting and setting up????? Iron Man 2 is EVERYTHING you would want in a movie and much more! It is a special treat when a sequel reaches up and delivers an excellent film that you thoroughly enjoy as much if not more than a beloved first installment. It truly feels like they just paused and kept telling the same story but with more of an edge. Hopefully, they can do it again and skip that third movie curse. Think of it as another installment and they'll be fine. Fitting Avengers in to the mix is even more fun to think about but I heard that Favreau will be involved with that as an executive producer. So, I'm not worried. In the meanwhile, we can all enjoy this film because it stands on its own but as a great part of a running saga.

Jon Favreau knew exactly what he was doing with this movie. This is a sleek, no-holds barred superhero movie, with great performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke. Let's face it, it was almost impossible to top the first one; nevertheless this a good sequel to one of the best superhero movies ever made.

Scarlett Johansson fulfilled her role as the the sexy and cunning agent Natasha Romanoff, and Gwyneth Paltrow is fine as Pepper Potts. Sam Rockwell plays Tony Stark's competitor, and does a pretty good job at it.

The only problem I have with this movie is that too many things have been fitted into 124 minutes. I understand that the movie was meant to be a roller-coaster ride, intended to thrill, but a little more character development would certainly have helped the movie. For example Samuel L. Jackson ans Johansson's characters are underused. Also, the ending was a little disoriented and predictable; something just didn't feel right about it.

All in all, Jon Favreau has made a movie that would please the fanboys and satisfy the critics. This is a movie that entertains, while still complementing the first movie, and setting up a third movie. If you liked the first movie, just go ahead and watch this movie - you won't see a masterpiece, but you'll have a fun day at the movies.

P.S.- Watch out for the after credits scene

Positives:

• Robert Downey Jr.
• The first act
• Ideas with potential

Negatives:

• Second and third acts
• Inconsistent story and pacing
• Villain(s)

At its high points - the first act and the climax - Iron Man 2 is actually better than the first film. Everything up to and including the action scene in Monaco is just great fun to watch: the action, the character interactions, and of course Robert Downey Jr's wonderful portrayal of Tony Stark. And the action scene at the end is pretty epic.

The problem is, the film just stops being so much fun in-between. In a large proportion of this time, it's either going too slowly with little happening that's exciting or even particularly interesting, or it's providing some silly moments like Iron Man lounging on a giant display donut. To be fair, there's no problem with the many subplots this movie has: they all blend together quite smoothly.

The acting in this film deserves credit: almost everybody does a great job. Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow are just as entertaining as they were in the first film, Jon Favreau gets more to do as Stark's chauffeur, Don Cheadle is actually a little better than Terrence Howard as Rhodie (again, maybe because he has a bigger role), Mickey Rourke portrays a decent but overall ordinary villain, and once Scarlett Johansson is allowed to do something substantial with her own action sequence, she's well worth watching. The only weak link is Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, who gets quite annoying after a while.

Overall, Iron Man 2's slow middle section prevents it from being better than the first film as a whole, which is a shame considering how brilliant the beginning and end segments are.