[8.25/10] Iron Man 2 (2010)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

The reason that the original "Iron Man" was so good for me, besides the fact that marvel had finally taken creative control over their own characters, was that Robert Downey Jr. was able to completely personify the character of Tony Stark. In "Iron Man 2" he is back again doing all of the things which made the original so great. Mickey Rourke was also amazing as Vanko. With a combination of excellent script writing and an actor who has really found his form again, Rourke was able to take a Marvel character who isn't particularly strong or developed, and give him an amazing screen presence, every scene he is in you feel uneasy, with his appearance intimidating, and his lines delivered to perfection to give the audience the feeling that this guy knows exactly what he is doing. Sam Rockwell is also typically brilliant as the Tony Stark wannabe, with all of the one liners, but none of the charm, every time he is on screen, you can't wait to see him get his comeuppance. Scarlett Scarlett Johansson's acting was a bit off, but she looked sexier than ever and her fighting sequence was very hot, memorable and well-shot. Gwyneth Paltrow is decent as Tony Stark's assistant, but her character Pepper Potts is often annoying, dry, overly serious, career-obsessed... and not very likeable, in my opinion. Returning in the director's seat is the ever-surprising Jon Favreau, once again helming with confidence, flair and creativity. The special effects and graphics here were one up against the previous film, and it was a definite visual feast especially when suits got up against suits, warranting a second look at the film just to catch everything that's happening at the same time. The finale was a full 30 minutes worth of action end to end and features the Iron Man-War Machine tag team up, which served up a lot more than what we've all glimpsed from clips here and there. "Iron Man 2" is an extremely satisfying sequel on all accounts. While the original film is probably slightly better, the sequel does everything right and doubles up on everything in comparison; characters, action and effects. Despite some of its early negative criticism, "Iron Man 2" delivers a worthwhile sequel with fantastic cast and spectacular action.