Entertaining, complex and engaging!

Rating: 10/10 (4 May 2010)

I've watched IM2 twice so far, and am eagerly looking forward to the 3rd this Wed with a special friend. I'm also planning a possible trip to London to see it in Imax in the near future when I save enough money.
I'm sharing some radom thoughts about IM2:
What holds the story is a more in depth exploration of Tony and his relationship with his father, Pepper Potts and Rhodey. The spirit of the movie is fun and the subject matter is interestingly human and the actions are a blast. Robert Downey Jr is again breath-taking as Tony Stark. The romance between Tony and Pepper is a breath of fresh air and very endearing.
The visual effect is spectacular, especially when Tony is making a breakthrough in his lab – it's like he's one with the whole universe!
I enjoy Black Widow single-handedly handling all the security guards at Hammer industry with crisp karate moves mixed with high tech devices. However, I find it hard to relate to her emotionally as she's often expressionless and humourless. She's like a highly intelligent and sexy robot, or alien – effective, but lack of more fleshed-out human dimensions.
I like Don Cheadle in the War Machine suit, but not when he's out of it. I feel he lacked the upright posture as a Lt. Col. His body language does not fully embody the spirit of James Rhodes.
In my first viewing, I think Tony's out of his mind, down right miserable and ridiculous, and frankly I missed his boyish good look, and resented his sickly haggard look. But the movie took me to another place, and suddenly I can relate to what it's like for a genius billionaire to face premature mortality and have no one to share his fear and regret, not even his love interest or best friend. I can relate to the desperate sense of isolation, powerlessness in reaching out for help, helplessness in simply getting some understanding from the one he cares most, and the need to escape into a donut.
I like the more in depth exploration of Tony's relationship with his father, Howard Stark through the contrast of his nemesis, Ivan and his father Anton. Even though Tony's born with the privilege, wealth, and talent, he grew up feeling unloved by a cold, distant father and then orphaned at a young age. Ivan, on the other hand, grew up in poverty, lack of recognition and imprisonment, but shared a deep love with his father.
I think Ivan Vanko is a well-developed character, and Micky Rourke very much nailed it. He has a strong and intimidating screen presence yet can still connect with the audience through deep emotions and humour.
I love it when Tony finally discovers his father's love for him in an old tape in which his father told him that Tony was his greatest creation. For me, that's the equivalent to the "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart" Pepper gives Tony in IM.
It's interesting that Robert further explored the father issue in his next movie, Due Date.