Uneven first half is made up for with a rousing second half

Rating: 7/10 (10 May 2010)

I have given Iron Man 2 the same 8 rating I gave the original. Mainly because both are flawed films, but in the end, are rousing, fun summer movies that do not cater to the lowest common mind level, yet don't take themselves too seriously.
Iron Man 2 starts out, much like Spiderman 3, with Tony Stark seemingly basking in the glow of Iron Man's accomplishments (it is set 6 months after the first film). However we learn quickly that Tony is hiding a pain within; the reactor is slowly killing him. A long with that, we learn Tony and his father were not very close, more angst to throw into the pot. Thus we have Tony Stark slowly going out of control and his friends; Pepper, Happy and Rhodie must pull him in.
The first half comes off a bit uneven to me, not sure why, it just never seemed to find a steady groove. It is not the pace, as with the first, there is never any moments of watch checking, it just had an uneven flow of one scene to the next for me, like they were trying to find the groove but not quite getting it. It isn't until an hour into the film that it finally found a rhythm for me. Once it did find that rhythm it brought the film home, with an excellent 3rd act.
Performances across the board are excellent. I have to say I missed Howard as Rhodie. Cheadle is by no means a slouch actor, but he doesn't have the same presence in uniform that Howard had. Johanson brings everything you would expert to the siren role she is cast in. Definitely look forward to seeing more of her in further adventures. Rourke is his usual method self, totally absorbed in the role of Whiplash and eating up every scene he is in.
One of the things I enjoyed most about the film is the continual interweaving of the whole Marvel universe, especially the hints of other characters involved with the Avengers. We are actually introduced to the Avenger concept in the film, which, for the comic geeks out there, will be a glorious thing to witness. Another is the expanded role of Tony's father, which is done through old news and company reel, but helps to give us more of a full view of the Stark patriarch and more importantly, his feelings toward his song Tony, who has felt he never quite measured up to his father's expectations.
My two main complaints with the film are minor ones, but still kept it from being a 9. The first I have already mentioned, the first hour was herky jerky, never seeming to find a steady groove. This was resolved by the last hour and it gave us a much improved upon 3rd act, one of the flaws that the first film had in that the 3rd act was entertaining, but lacked a grand finale feel. My other complaint is the score. I absolutely loved the score for the first film. The mix of guitar and drum interwoven with string and horns made for a score that felt at home with a move titled Iron Man. This go around, no such guitar or drum woven score. The "theme" from the first film isn't even used again, a minor complaint, but one that took me out of the film a little as the first score really worked well and is sorely missed here. Composer Ryeland Allison and original music by Ramin Djawadi gave us an excellent score in the first. This go around they are replaced by John Debney who gives us a lackluster score.
Lastly on the music front, don't believe the hype about the Iron Man 2 soundtrack, which purports to be nothing but AC/DC. There are only 2 songs by AC/DC in the entire film. So not sure why the soundtrack CD, which has 15 songs by AC/DC, is being purported as being the soundtrack, which it is not. Again, a slight critique, but something fans should know going in.
My complaints are minimal, the film delivers on exactly what it should and it brings forth a start, of what looks to be a very fun and exciting summer full of theater entertainment. Oh yeah, one final thing, DO NOT GET UP AND LEAVE BEFORE THE END CREDITS. Wait them out, you will be pleasantly surprised, especially if you are a Marvel/Avengers fan.