A Caged Bird

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2016)

Iron Man 2 is definitely a superior film, and unlike most sequels, is not a huge let down from its predecessor. I would argue that Iron Man 2 has aged almost as well as the first Iron Man. It examines some real world questions of weapons accountability and the mental and physical toll playing a superhero can have on one person.
Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johannson make solid appearances in the film, and Don Cheadle takes over as Rhodey, with a few surprises in store for the character. Jon Favreau, who directed the first two Iron Man flicks, has an increased role as Tony and Pepper's assistant and driver Happy Hogan, and along with Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson, provide some funny moments throughout the film.
The film also develops Pepper Potts, but the true newcomer is Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko aka Whiplash. I quite enjoyed the idea of this character and his main entrance is quite cool, but like Vanko's caged bird, he becomes too much of a lab rat and I think this is a misuse of the character. In other words, one can say Whiplash enters with a bang but goes out with a whimper that is a bit too reliant on special effects.
My only slight complain is this portion of that character and Iron Man 2 still handles the issue of Tony's legacy very well and gets 3.5 out of 4 stars.