Tony Stark is Back!

Rating: 6/10 (8 May 2010)

The world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark is the armored super hero, Iron Man. Under pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands. With Pepper Potts and James "Rhodey" Rhodes at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces.
It's been about two years since the last IRON MAN film and now, the sequel officially starts off the summer on a disappointing note. Like many sequels, IM2 fails to live up to the original, yet it isn't an entirely bad film. It's just very disheartening to see so many flaws in a film in which the original film was so great.
The main flaw of the film is, you guessed it, the story structure. When the film gets to the second act, the film gets into the convoluted territory. There were like five plot lines going all at once, most of which were even unnecessary. It was just a mess and I didn't believe some of the characters' actions. The characters Pepper Potts and Lt. Rhodes seem to be against Tony Stark just for the sake of giving him more problems to resolve.
Another problem is the underused actors since there are so many characters, including Mickey Rourke. Rourke could have been a pretty cool interesting villain if he would have more screen time, but he ended up being a generic villain. Sam Rockwell is another new cast member who I didn't seem to care about. Robert Downey Jr. is great in his suitable role as always along with Gwyneth Paltrow. I thought Scarlett Johansson was pretty sexy with her bad ass fighting moves, and Don Cheadle doesn't disappoint.
The film also suffers from the role of what SHIELD has over this film. There's just too many references and characters that appear here just to remind the audience that Tony Stark will be in an Avengers movie. However, saying that, the film does have some pretty fantastic action sequences, although there aren't many. One cool scene was in the climax, which was explosive and kinetic.
Overall, there isn't much to say about this sequel. The first act and climax are good, but the second act is just a convoluted mess. However, as a summer popcorn flick, it's entertaining while it lasts but is immediately forgettable after the credits roll. But let's be honest. Every one is going to watch this movie regardless of what other people have to say. It's just THE movie to see this summer so I'll just say stay after the credits to see one extra scene. Enjoy it for what it is and nothing more.