Not As Good As The First

Rating: 7/10 (10 April 2019)

Just got done watching Iron Man 2!! I remember not liking it when it was released!! But whilst I didn't love it like the first movie, I did find it somewhat enjoyable this time around.
This one is a bit more concerned with setting things up for Avengers than the previous movies, I recall Jon Favreau had a lot of problems with the Marvel higher-ups, due to their constant interference, to the point that they were having him rewrite the script as the film was still shooting. In particular, elements such as the S.H.I.E.L.D. subplot, were the result of a need to establish the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe in preparation for Avengers, at the expense of the coherence of this film's own plot. I remember Rourke being upset his character lost a lot of screentime and character development as a result.
Downer Jr is again great as Tony Stark, Rourke hams it up well and is an intimidating villain!! I surprisingly did not take to Don Cheadle as Major Rhodes, which is strange as I like him as an actor!Garry Shandling, on the other hand, is an actor I hate. Something about his face just irritates me. Sam Rockwell is on form as the smarmy Hammer.
Only Toy Story 3 and Alice In Wonderland grossed more than Iron Man 3's $312 million dollar domestic gross.