Iron Man 2

FAVREAU AND DOWNEY SMASH THE RECORD! My Rating: ****1/2 - Outstanding

You know what? I had a good feeling about "Iron Man 2". I knew that it would have a lot to measure up to after the first "Iron Man"(2008) but I thought that it just might actually do that. And , well, it did. But it wasn't in quite the way I expected. The new sequel takes away some of the good things about the first Iron Man that I wish it hadn't but it also brings many new things to the plate. I liked a lot of them but some, however, I really didn't. But, that didn't stop the film. The plot takes place 6 months after the end of the first film and a man named Anton Vanko dies and his son, Ivan Vanko, thinks that the idea for the machine keeping Tony Stark alive was really made by his father and not Tony's father, Howard Stark. He also thinks that Howard fired his father so he could steal the idea and then they become poor causing his father to die without proper care. So, seeking revenge, Ivan studies his father's old blueprints for the invention and makes one to power a suit that has long electric whips attached to it. And so he sets out to kill Iron Man. On top of that, the gadget in Tony's heart is poisoning his blood which is ironic(get it? "iron"-ic ? hahaha!) because the very thing keeping him alive is also killing him. So he is hiding this from everyone. And, at the same time, the government is demanding that he turn over his suit to the military which he REALLY doesn't want to do. So, this film as you can tell, shows the depth behind being the superhero. The fact that it's not just about beating up the bad guys and taking names but there is a lot of stress these characters deal with. Fiction as it may be, there are ways it may relate to real human life. This was also shown well in "The Dark Knight" and the "Spider-Man" movies. Which brings me to my next point, in an interview, director Jon Favreau said that superhero films are on a scale ranging from "The Dark Knight" which is very deep and serious to "Spider-man" which is very deep and playful. He wanted this to be in the middle. I respectfully disagree. I say that it should have been just a wee bit more on "The Dark Knight " side. Then, this film would have been even better. One major thing trying to push me away from the movie was the Rhodey character. He was greatly portrayed in the first film by Terrence Howard and now he is being played by Don Cheadle. Mr. Cheadle is a good actor and I know that Terrence's replacement was due to a contract miscommunication but the film makers didn't have him even act the way Rhodey acted in the first. They don't really seem like friends in this one and Rhodey sometimes seems like he thinks of Tony as a pest rather than a long life friend. He is always so serious around him. Some of the characters just don't seem to have a connection with Tony that much anymore. But, then again, since he is dying and no one knows, he has been acting strange doing things he never does and they are probably just mad at him. I will leave it up to whoever sees it to decide for themselves. Although another thing is that sometimes they have a useless scene or line that just doesn't need to be there and it just stinks up the whole joint? Well, there are one or two scenes like that that are similar to some of the overkill that bogged down "Spider-man 3". Really, if it wasn't for these things, I would say 5/5 Stars. Another thing Mr. Favreau said was that he has come to trust the CGI more and now he said he wanted a little more action and that now he could "play" so to speak. The only problem with this is that sometimes they trust it a little too much and destroy the values that were upheld be the predecessor and replace it with colorful action. But, Jon Favreau fortunately was not really a victim for this movie. But play he did! The final battle to the film is so spectacular and cool that it gives a new definition of awesomeness and you could watch it multiple times. The acting is just as good as the first with yet again another great performance by Robert Downey Jr. Who is impressing me again and again. So overall, the film is great with great acting, action, and fan-pleasing moments. All geeks will be teased by objects shown in the film that hint at upcoming Marvel movies(which reminds me that you need to stay AFTER the credits for one of these moments.). I really enjoyed it and hopefully they can right these few wrongs in "Iron Man 3". But for now, let's enjoy this well-done kick-off to the summer movie season.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr. Director: Jon Favreau
Don Cheadle
Gwenyth Paltrow
Mickey Rourke
Sam Rockwell
Scarlett Johannson
Samuel L. Jackson