good enough sequel

Rating: 7/10 (7 December 2013)

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is back declaring that he has created world peace. The problem is that his arc reactor heart is killing him as fast as saving his life. And then there's Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) who is on a mission to avenge his father with superior arc technology.
It's a good continuation sequel. I like Mickey Rourke as the new bad guy. He has the look and the menacing demeanor. I even like the accent. Sam Rockwell is normally a special actor, but his sleazy weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer feels very generic. And Garry Shandling is stupid as a Senator.
Overall, it does feel a little bit bloat with the vast number of characters and the complicated history in this movie. There are a few characters they introduce that payoff in later movies. For example, Scarlett Johansson seems like nothing more than a simple T&A show. If not for the later movies, I would say she's a bad distraction.
The fact is that it does two things all at once. It's Iron Man 2, but also pre-Avengers. And it does them both well enough. But like a ship with two masters, it can veer off at times. It could have been a great movie that is strictly Iron Man 2. But this is a good enough movie that advances both goals.