Isn't it Ironic? I don't think

Rating: 7/10 (9 May 2010)

There are plenty of rough spots to iron out in "Iron Man 2". I did not feel the super charismatic powers in this one as I did in the original. Not to say that the sequel was a total disaster, but there were some narrative elements that Director Jon Favreau and especially actor-turned-screenwriter Justin Theroux should have unwrinkled in this mediocre sequel. In this ironic chapter, Tony Stark (of course Iron Man himself) becomes a narcissist iron-tuned man machine in arrogantly telling the world that his iron weaponry is the country's main armed defense and they are helpless without him. Starks then faces new super challenges in being a identity-revealed super hero: competitive corporations try to develop their own ironisque design suits, his mechanical heart is causing his blood toxic level to rise, he faces pressure from a jealous U.S. Senator, is obsessed in pursuing his deceased father's vision to become a reality, and delegates his CEO executive powers of Starks Enterprises to his right-hand woman Pepper Potts. Of course, Iron Man does encounter new enemies. Those would come in the form of an avenging Russian named Ivan Vanco, who has constructed a miniaturized arc reactor of his own including whip-like attachments harnessing the electrical energy. And also the garrulous & obnoxious Justin Hammer, a CEO corporate rival who desperately tries to hammer out a super iron suit of his own to no avail. Starks' BFF Lt. Colonel James Rhodes does return in this installment in taking the high road on becoming an armed super hero of his own, in order to help Iron Man not to dive into a colossal downfall. We also get some spy eye-candy in this one with the gorgeous Natalie Rushman, Starks new assistant who may or may not be the Rush woman she claims to be; and there just might be another limelight to her persona. Robert Downey Jr. was again stellar as Starks/Iron Man, so I am down with him still playing the armed superhero. Gwyneth Paltrow as Potts lost some of that Potts' thespian high that she embodied in the first installment. Mickey Rourke did kind of wrestle with his underdeveloped role as Vanco. The undervalued Sam Rockwell did rock once more in the acting arena with his performance as the determined Hammer. I felt kind of cheated with Don Cheadle's flat work as Rhodes; Terrence Howard was more divine in the Rhodes role in the predecessor. I was elated that there was a casting trip to Johannsonburg by having the stunning Scarlett Johansson portray Natalie Rushman/Black Widow. I do credit Favreau for enterprising some challenging direction to "Iron Man 2", but this "just in", Justin Theroux's immensely chatty screenplay was too much talk and not enough creative bite. There were way too many mumbling elongated conversations in "Iron Man 2" which provided a mechanical restlessness in its viewing audience. So I am bit in the red with "Iron Man 2" but I am still down with Downey. *** Average