A HEAVY foot in the wrong direction.

Rating: 5/10 (4 July 2012)

I saw this in the theatre and I should have known better to set any expectations, but since Downey, Favreau, and the previous installment doing Shellhead some justice, I relented and set those expectations. Not high, but they were set optimistically. OK, so I know Cheadle replaced Howard and that was a decision that wasn't for the best. Cheadle is usually dependable in his own way. But Howard was actually plausible and sold you that they were friends. Cheadle didn't bring that to his role. Rourke, In my opinion took the dramatic, emotional stake that should have been Stark's with an ever increasing personal stake or investment with each sequel that doesn't have to always be Pepper Potts. I mean, is that all he actually cares about ? I know she's the unattainable love interest and the one person whom Stark can't get into the sack. But she was bait for Stane in the first, and now for Anton Vanko's droid attack. Come on Justin Theroux. This is why you make the big bucks. This isn't a plot driven movie since it just unfolds as it comes to Stark's realization. But it doesn't offer much for character driven either. When Stark starts gets drunk at his party, you feel they're gonna do an homage to the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline. But nope. Perfect chance to dive into a moment in Stark's fallibility and character development outside the seemingly "Uh, gotta fight the Mandarin again." I felt the action scenes were treated with less reverence than the first and added to satiate action fans. But the fight scene at Monaco was over before it really began, the battle with Cheadle during the party was trying to be funny while also adding humor, and the face-off with Vanko was too un-fulfilling. I felt it was all over waaay too quick. You know it isn't that good of a "movie" when even Downey is quoted as saying how much of a letdown it is. Furthermore, there wasn't much if any, semblance of an arc for Stark like his realization in the first that he was irresponsible and went about to rectify that character defect. In short, too little of everything in this "movie".