A good sequel, still the better comic book movies from recent Marvel offerings.

Rating: 8/10 (28 May 2010)

If there's anything I hate about a movie, it's a sequel that fails to live up to its predecessor's quality (I'm looking at you, X-Men 3, Spider-Man 3). But hey, while it's not as good as Iron Man, Iron Man 2 is a good comic book movie, not for everybody though.
Robert Downey Jr continues to impress, I can't imagine anybody else playing a better Tony Stark than him. Downey and Paltrow have such on screen chemistry, they carry the whole movie. I love the rest of the casts as well, Mickey Rourke is oddly charismatic as Whiplash, Scarlett Johanson is hot as Black Widow, Sam Rockwell made Justin Hammer so damn cool. But Don Cheadle steals the show as the new Rhodey, I wish he has more screen time.
The actions are pretty if a bit tame, but if you're in it for the action, there's a lot to see here. A showdown at a Monaco racetrack early in the movie, where Tony pulls a CGI briefcase that unfolds into an armor is the highlight for me. As a 3D animator, I couldn't help but stare at the screen with envy. Your mileage may vary though, I'm not sure girls would appreciate two guys in super suits fighting a battalion of robots as much as guys would. This movie is very much an advertisement for Marvel's 2012 Superhero mash-up The Avengers, and that's why it can be pretty complicated (or boring) for people who are not familiar with the Marvel universe.
I think I'm one of the few in the theater who knows exactly why a black man with an eye-patch and a hot Russian femme fatale, from a secret government organization called "S.H.I.E.L.D". keeps bothering Tony Stark about "The Avenger Initiative". Expect cameos from Captain America's shield and Thor's Mjolnir. All in all, though not as lauded as Iron Man and Chris Nolan's two Batman films, this is a good comic book movie. It's made by people who have such passion and respect towards the original material, and it shows in the final product, I hope all the future Marvel movies receive the same treatment. Knowledge of the Marvel comics' universe may help you enjoy the movie more though.