Iron Man 2: A Review

I went to see the much anticipated Iron Man 2 on Sunday afternoon.

Here's the short version: good movie, I thought the story line was stronger in the first movie, but the sequel was a thrill to watch.

The Story: Iron Man becomes a household word and the self-appointed protector of the country. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is synonymous with Iron Man. A particular senator (how true is this) is not happy that Iron Man is on the job and wants to secure the Iron Man "weapon" for the United States. Of course, he wants to militarize it and there is a lot of intrigue associated with this and of course the obligatory Senate Committee is involved. But, there are a couple of evil characters who provide the spice for the movie--when sparks are not flashing between Tony Stark and his assistant/aide/part-time love/future CEO of Stark Industries: Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

The movie is a bit long, and the five-year old I went with found some of the non-action scenes a bit boring. But, the story line development was excellent. And needed.

The acting is great. I thought Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow reprised their roles in admirable fashion with strong believable performances. In addition newcomers to the script Scarlette Johansson who played Natalie Rushman/Natasha Romanoff, Sam Rockwell who played Justin Hammer a villan, Mickey Rourke who played Ivan Vanko an especially nasty villan, Don Cheadle who took over the role of LtCol James "Rhodey" Rhodes all did great jobs and were very strong and believable. One of my favorites was Samuel L. Jackson who reprised his role as Nick Fury (from the trailer on the first Iron Man) and was especially fun to watch.

I was saddened that Terrance Howard did not reprise his role as Rhodey from the original Iron Man--but sometimes change is a good thing. Once I got used to Don Cheadle--it all worked for me.

The mix of action and story was good for adults. There are a lot of double entendre jokes and quips which make the movie just a bit more interesting. The interplay between Tony Stark and Pepper continues to be one of the highlights of the movie and provides a unifying theme.

RECOMMENDATION: See this movie. It is worth the time and the money. It won't win an academy award, but the thrill is back. And if you saw the first one--you will enjoy this one just as much.