"I am Iron Man..........2"

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2010)

Now first let's just get one thing out of the way, 'Iron man 2' is NOT as good as 'Iron Man'. That's not to say that 'Iron man 2' is not a good film...in fact - it's a very good film. There's a lot to enjoy about Iron man 2, there's enough action scenes (though some suffer from the blurry/shaky cam syndrome), there's a fairly consistent storyline separating those action scenes (some might find the film a little slow, I personally enjoyed all the talking), there's a great cast including returning cast members Downey Jr, Paltrow and Favreou (this time with a little more screen time) and new cast members including the legendary Mickey Rourke (Whip-lash) and the ultra sexy Scarlette Johanson (Black Widow) and then replacement cast member Don Cheadle (war-machine) stepping in for the absence of Terrance Howard. As usual, Robert Downey Jr was brilliant and his portrayal of Tony Stark is just as good in this film as it was in the first. It's obvious throughout the film that he is enjoying himself and he's truly amusing to watch and helps keep the film humorous. Don Cheadle did a fine job of taking over from Terrance Howard, though I don't think he was any better in the role of Rhodey/War-machine than Terrance in the first film. The best part about Iron man 2 is the casting of Mickey Rourke as the villain Ivan/whiplash as he is a great actor and truly lit up nearly every scene he was in. That been said I believe his part was a little under-written but I will get to that in a minute. Scarlette Johanson wasn't given much in the way of substance but it must be said that this is truly the most beautiful I have seen her look in any film! Red hair definitely works for her and she is ultra sexy when she's kickin' butt in her skin tight black spandex outfit! Ryan Reynold's is a lucky man!
Great cast, great action sequences and a descant sprinkling of humour make Iron man 2 a worthy sequel and if you enjoyed the first film then you should for the most part enjoy this one as well.
Here's the down side, I feel this film lacked the intensity of the first film. There were no real edge of your seat nail-biting scenes like the escape from the terrorists scene of the first film. The climactic scenes were not built up enough and many of the scenes ended abruptly and humorously as apposed to dramatically. An example of this was in the anti-climactic final battle in the film, it had all the potential in the world to be dramatic, you have Mickey Rourke who is a brilliant dramatic actor who hates Tony Stark with a passion and you have Robert Downey Junior an all-round brilliant actor and there was no drama! It was resolved so quickly! It was nowhere near as dramatic as the climactic final battle in the first film which is a real shame because it makes the whole threat of Ivan (Rourke) seem empty and harmless and the whole film suffers for it as the lead up for this final confrontation should have ended more explosively. Blame that on the writers!
Lack of drama aside, 'Iron man 2' is still a good film and another worthy MARVEL sequel.
So like the film I'm going to end on a light note, some people want to be Iron man, some just want to be Tony Stark, me? I want to be that figure-hugging black suit that Scarlett Johanson wears!!!