A sequel that surpasses expectations

Rating: 9/10 (1 May 2013)

Being a huge fan of Robert Downey Jr., I naturally want to see everything that he is in. When I found out that he was Iron Man, I was intrigued and excited. I loved the first movie and eagerly anticipated the second one. When it came out, I was worried it would not live up to my expectations.
I needn't have worried; the movie surpassed my expectation. To be honest, I didn't know what to expect. I just wanted the relationship between Stark and Potts to develop more. I liked that there were links to other Avenger characters, such as the mention of New Mexico and a drawing of the Tesseract. At the time, of course, I didn't make the connection because I hadn't seen any of the other Avenger movies. Now that I have, I look for the hints that are cleverly placed in all films.
Robert Downey Jr. once again shines as Tony Stark. You see his vulnerability in this one when he realizes that the palladium heart he uses to stay alive is also what is killing him. Downey, of course, makes Tony real. He makes mistakes and then tries to recover from them. He is arrogant and egotistical, humble and scared. Downey allows Tony to show all of these emotions without making him a caricature. He really is one of the greatest actors of his generation.
Returning as Pepper Potts is Gwyneth Paltrow. As in the first film, Potts does not have a lot to do but still needs to be rescued. Paltrow plays Potts well; at one point I wanted to throw something at her for the way she treats Tony. I get that she's irritated by his behavior, but the fact that he's trying to make amends should count for something yet she doesn't think so. Paltrow is perfect.
Don Cheadle takes over the role of Colonel James Rhodes from Terrance Howard. I really wanted to hate Cheadle; Howard was so perfect as Rhodey. However, Cheadle did a great job and at times, I forgot that Howard didn't return to the sequel. We get to see Cheadle suit up in this one as War Machine and I loved when both he and Stark teamed up for battle.
Academy Award winner Mickey Rourke is Ivan Vankov, a Russian determined to get revenge on Tony for what Howard Stark did to his father. Rourke is convincing as Vankov, carrying the Russian accent perfectly and makes you believe that he really is Vankov. One interesting thing to note is that the beautiful bird that was in the film was at the request of Rourke. He wanted Vankov to have a human side and have love for something, and so the bird was added into the film. This was a risky move that works. Although you know that he's up to no good, you can't help but like him when he requests that his bird is with him when he works.
The rest of the cast is rounded out with Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Clark Gregg and Samuel L. Jackson. Of course, each is wonderful in their roles. It was nice to see Jackson and Gregg return as their characters from S.H.I.E.L.D. and introduce us to Johansson as well. There's a bit of a hint as to who she really is early in the film when she takes Happy down in a boxing move, but you have a tendency to forget that until her alter ego of Natasha Romanov is revealed.
Graphics play a huge part in this movie and rightfully so. Tony is an innovator and a step ahead of modern technology. It makes me hope that everything he uses will eventually be in every household in the world. Audi also makes a guest appearance when Tony drives a few of his cars in the film.
Many people were worried that Iron Man 2 wouldn't be as good as the first one, but those worries were quickly put to rest. For a sequel, it is everything it should be. Here's hoping the bar is raised even higher in Iron Man 3.