Better than the first, just 2 things bothered me.

Rating: 9/10 (8 May 2010)

First off let me say i liked this one better than the first Iron Man, just because I felt this one was even more character driven and more cool characters than the first one. Also the build-up to The Avengers is really cool in this part with Samuel L. Jackson have a much bigger role than just a cameo. I especially liked the after-credits scene for Thor where they show people digging up Mjolnir in the middle of a desert.
The Characters are much better presented in this one, both the old ones and the new ones. Especially Tony gets a much more emotional background concerning his history with his father and so forth. I absolutely loved Mickey Rourke as Whiplash/Ivan Vank, but the 1st flaw of the movie also concerns him. He is totally UNDERUSED, he's there for the beginning and the end, and in the middle part of the movie: he's barely in it. Gwyneth Paltrow was as charming and beautiful as she was in the first. Also Don Cheadle was a very good recast for Terrence Howard, maybe even better than him. Samuel L. Jackson looked cool and bad-ass at the same time as Nick Fury. The sexy Scarlett Johansson was also good as Natasha Romanoff. She was dangerous and very beautiful at the same time. She's got some pretty cool fighting moves up her sleeve. Sam Rockwell did a very good job portraying Justin Hammer. He was funny, nerdy and yet very evil.
The Story is also very good with some pretty complex parts in it, like the part where Tony needs to re-invent the unknown element. That went a bit over my head. But every part of the story just felt right.
The CGI is even better than in the first one, especially in the final aerial/ground battle between the Hammeroids and Tony.
The Soundtrack was nothing special, just your typical summer-movie music. Nothing special, so nothing to complain. :P
So, the only 2 negative things for me where: 1. The under use of Mickey Rourke. I mean they said he was going to be the main villain in this one. And if he was he had way too little screen time. 2. The action scenes are too short. I would have liked in particular that the fight on the racetrack was longer. Don't get me wrong it was very good, just too short.
Iron Man 2, a worthy sequel that surpasses its predecessor -----> 9/10