I don't get the hate.

Rating: 9/10 (1 September 2014)

I really like the 2nd Iron Man. It doesn't have the captivation of the first entry, or the polarization of the third, or even the camaraderie of The Avengers, but it's easily the funniest of the bunch. It's more lighthearted than any of the other ones. Really, it's just Tony having fun while dealing with some minor personal demons.
Robert Downey Jr. is as charismatic as always. We get to see more of the playboy in him and his character this time around. With the fortunate casting of Jon Cheadle (but unfortunate loss of Terrence Howard, thanks a lot Paramount!), Tony's kept in check and assisted by his supporting cast in a perfect choice. Jon Cheadle has come a long way from the accent façade of Ocean's Eleven. His resume just keeps growing and it's no surprise why. Gwenyth Paltrow, Clark Gregg and Jon Favreau are of course the returning cast and nail every line in every scene perfectly, deflecting Tony Stark's tendencies to hedonism in his self-inflicted tumultuous tantrums. Newcomers to the series, Scarlett Johanson and Mickey Rourke, are pure BAMF material; Mickey's character Whiplash (an otherwise little known anomaly in the comic book series) is especially well developed and superbly brought out in yet another shining example of Rourke's acting ability through nuance. I don't know if Rourke actually knows Russian, but you wouldn't be any wiser. But who really stands out in this film is Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer. Quite possibly the best supporting villain in any Marvel movie yet, Justin Hammer is the Lando Calrissian of Marvel entertainment, attempting to counter Stark Industries' outfitted models with his own inferior "Hammerroids". This is through the assistance of Whiplash in a baddie double team, and I'll stop there to avoid spoilers. What really makes Rockwell's character shine is his pompous naïve demeanor and aptitude for superiority by being a total mook! He's hysterical and obnoxious at the same time.
---Maybe SPOILERS--- It's true that we see way more of Tony Stark than Iron Man, and some things could have been left out. Some things REALLY should have been left out. We don't need to be dumbed down by believing atoms are created by shiny blue laser beam in a basement man cave through the use of AC ducting. And a stable atom isotope previously undiscovered on a fifties' theme park replica? My IQ isn't in the double digits Marvel. But the interactions between the characters made the movie, so I prefer Tony's personal demons over an extra 15 minutes of Uni-Beams and blurry flight sequences.
---End maybe SPOILERS--- Give the movie a rent if you haven't seen it already. If you have seen, maybe a repeat viewing. Remember, this is a COMICBOOK movie. No matter how many times that's said, people still don't understand that sentence.