Iron Man 2 lacks Mettle - Original whips Sequel by far

Rating: 7/10 (8 May 2010)

Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2 and Superman 2 are a few examples where the return was better then the debut. Sorry to say Iron Man 2 is just a bridge to prepare folk for both Avengers and Thor from Marvel's line-up.
Stan Lee made his usual cameo as one of the well-wishers when Tony Stark was exiting from his year-long Expo. However, the real scene stealer was Scarlett Johanssen as Natasha Romanov/Natalie Rushman as the Black Widow she kicked everyone's butt including Director Jon Favreau as 'Happy' Hogan, Stark's bodyguard & coach (sic).
Mickey Rourke was made to appear highly intelligent as a physicist/hacker gone way wrong - Ivan Vanko son of a Howard Stark collaborator. If you're a comics purist you know that "Whiplash" (never called so in the picture) was an American by name of Scarlotti.
Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine was a poor man's Terence Howard. The interaction of not Batman and Robin so much as the interaction of Robert Downey's excellent "Sherlock Holmes" where he sparred verbally and even physically with Jude Law as Dr Watson.
Marvel, wishing to appear Politically Correct, have transformed Colonel Nick Fury (once portrayed by Caucasian David Hassellhoff, admittedly God knows why he was picked) into Afro-American Samuel L. Jackson, who's role as Director of S*H*I*E*L*D seems now to be a sop for the fact that both Cheadle and Howard were second fiddles to Robert Downey Jr's title role.
Some highpoints included when Tony Stark though he was dying and got blasted on booze and was treating Champagne bottles like clay skeets; the initial War Machine and Iron Man conflict in Stark's Malibu Mansion and of course, what happens after the credits at the very end of the film - Odin forbid me revealing!
While an acceptable li'l pot-boiler, the reality is you're better off watching the first Iron Man twice, since the thrill in the current flick will rust out fast!