"It's Good To Be Back"

Rating: 10/10 (17 November 2010)

And indeed it is. The first Iron Man came like lighting from a clear blue sky, a movie that started Robert Downey Jr's career, movie loved by audience and critics. Now there is a sequel and people are asking if it's worth it. And I say Hell Yeah.
Now when the whole world knows who Iron Man is, Tony is having a hard time staying alive. There are two men coming after him, a Russian Ivan Vanko who has an unfinished business with Tony. He claims that he stole the idea for the arc reactor from his father (which of course isn't entirely true, he is a Russian, you can't believe those.) The second guy after him is actually a competitor in business, Justin Hammer, who, for years is trying to build a suit like Iron Man's but with horrible results. Now with the government wanting Tony's Iron Man suit and Stark Industries closed for business, he has a chance to become the leading weapons industry.
The acting and the cast here are truly remarkable. Robert Downey Jr. is, well he is Robert Downey Jr. He is perfect as usual, you can't miss with him being cast in your movie. Gwyneth Paltrow does a great job being the love interest. Mickey Rourke doesn't have much time on screen but when he is you can see he enjoys the role and still tries to establish the character even with such limited screen time. Sam Rockwell is the comical villain and he is great at it. Samuel L. Jackson is a synonym of the word cool and he proves it once again as Nick Fury. He briefly appears but when he does he's got one of the best lines in the movie such as "Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the donut." or " I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet". The weakest link in the chain is Don Cheadle. He horribly doesn't fit as James Rhodes. He is uninteresting, and he acts too serious for this role. This is supposed to be entertaining, fun movie. And when he has no idea what to do, he copies Terrence Howard's take on this character. His character changed from the best friend ever to the worst friend. He became arrogant too. He actually thinks he is better than Iron Man!! But that of course isn't true. As always there is a great little cameo by Stan Lee. I can't forget all the rush on the internet Olivia Munn being a superhero and then she had just a tiny cameo as a news reporter. I was chuckling in the theater and no one had idea why.
Casting Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow was the smartest idea anyone ever had. She is the sexiest woman on Earth and seeing her in a tight leather suit is worth all the money on Earth. Her only fight scene in the hallway with like a dozen guards is amazing. It is one of the best choreographed fights of this year. It is just purely awesome, sexy, full of adrenaline and even funny.
I just feel like all those composers started to try again after last year's (almost) fiasco. OK, there were few exceptions, the Star Trek soundtrack, Up soundtrack and the Sherlock Holmes soundtrack. In this year there is more than just three great soundtracks and Iron Man 2 is one of them. The score is darker and more bad-ass. Three tracks that really stand out: the first track (Ivan's Metamorphosis), Monaco Drive with this heavy James Bond feel and the track titled Black Widow Kicks Ass. Soundtrack as such features songs from AC/DC, Queen and even Daft Punk.
There are more action scenes in this one than in the first movie. The action scenes are much better, they are fast paced, bad ass, simply better. There is even one car chase scene.
In summary, if you liked the first then I guarantee you that you will enjoy this one too, it's a must-see for any fan of Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Iron Man or a comic-books. (There are tons of comic-book references including the Avengers, Hulk and it's just great fun looking for them.) This is a great, entertaining summer movie so go and watch it.
Definitely wait until the end of the credits there is a great extra scene and you find out what agent Coulson was doing in New Mexico.