Iron Man 2 (2010)

Like most sequels, I'm always skeptical that the studio, writers, directors, producers, and even actors are going to change something significant enough, to lose the magic that made the first film so special.

Iron Man 2, while different in many ways from it's predecessor, maintains that magic, and builds on the Tony Stark/Iron Man mythology. 

While there may be less drama this time around as far as Stark's personal life is concerned, his struggles lie in a vengeful Russian with a suit of his own, a shady weapons dealer, a senator who wants the Iron Man technology, and the realization that what once saved his life, is now killing him. There's no time for romance here.

Some people will be bothered by the unfortunate casting change. Don Cheadle is a great actor, and handles the character or Jim Rhodes perfectly fine. He just doesn't have the suave presnce that Terrence Howard does. In a way, Cheadle makes more sense to play the straight laced soldier than Howard. It worked for me, but having Howard continue in the role would have been preferred.

Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko (he's NEVER referred to as Whiplash) is great, but barely used. Coming off such a celebrated performance like The Wrestler, you'd think he'd have more to do, or at least more dialogue. All the dialogue is given to the very capable Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer. He's so good, you'd think the character was written specifically for him. 

The biggest surprise for me was Scarlet Johansson as Natasha Romanoff (S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Black Widow). She's not gonna win any acting awards, but she was fun to watch as she kicked ass. If it wasn't her doing the fight scenes, then I give the editors props for making it look that way.

Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark. It's a role that only he can play. He's brilliant, and has unmatched comic timing. I'd watch Downey in anything at this point. 

Fanboys will piss themselves over War Machine. Seeing him fight side by side with Iron Man against an army of Hammer's robot drones was a blast, and a highlight for me personally. That scene alone was worth the price of admission.

Ultimately, Iron Man 2 isn't perfect, but it is a great movie. It's fast. It's fun, and may just be a better movie than the original.

Rated PG13, Runtime 124mns