Weak, but not terrible.

Rating: Null/10 (5 May 2010)

Just going to get this out of the way. Iron Man 2 does not exceed it's predecessor in any way. The plot is beyond predictable, the acting is great with solid performances coming from all of the leads, and the special effects are good.
The plot is simple enough. Jon Favreau clearly played it safe, which at least is better then the disaster that Spider-Man 3 was, but everyone was expecting much more from him this time around. The motivations for almost all the characters don't really make sense (I'm looking at Ivan Yenko and Rhodey here), but it still is enough to move the plot forward at a fairly brisk pace.
Unfortuneatly this movie seemed pretty determined to show off all the new gizmos and gadgets Tony had developed in the slight time period between the two movies. As cool as it may have been, that "oooh ahhh" effect does not carry a movie.
The acting was great, with an absolutely amazing cast giving exceptional performances. Don Cheadle did a great job taking over for Terence Howard, Robert Downey Jr was as amazing as usual and Mickey Rourke was a perfect choice for the antagonist.
Strangely enough, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L Jackson had absolutely tiny roles in the movie, more serving as part of a prelude to "The Avengers". Why they felt they needed to blow their budget on some big name actors/actresses that they hardly used over a bolder writer I don't know.
The effects were good, but still nothing special. I thought they nailed Whiplash (Thank god they avoided the leather outfit that was seen in the comic books), and some of the better action scenes had some great destruction, which we all love of course.
If you REALLY liked Iron Man 1, you will like this. If you thought the first was okay, then this is probably a renter for you. Overall this was a passive move by marvel entertainment after a few hits (by the way could you please make another hulk movie?).
Oh well, don't come expecting too too much.
7/10