Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 2010
Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: Justin Theroux
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, John Slattery, Clark Gregg, Jon Favreau, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, Leslie Bibb and Gerry Shandling
The first Iron man was one of the best modern crop of comic book films, so any sequel had a hard road to follow. This sequel amps up everything and is a stand out film in the series, but it does not out shine its predecessor. The first film was a flawless action film with a superb performance by Downey. In this sequel he brings forth all of his wit and charm and is captivating to watch. The action sequences are marvelous and Scarlett Johannsen really steals the film with all the scenes she is in. Some areas where this film shines is replacing Terence Howard with Don Cheadle, he is much more at ease in this role than Howard ever was and it shows. The action sequences are phenomenal and the story is a strong one that carries the film to its climactic ending. This is a solid film and it really shows the anchoring of the Marvel Universe on film that the studio is trying to develop.
The plot basics are this, it is six months after the first film and Tony Stark (Downey) is now facing the fact that his device is killing him and needs to find a cure fast. While in Russia Ivan Danko (Rourke) has a mad on for Stark and is preparing to revenge himself on him. Stark also has to defend the Iron Man tech to Congress who wants him to deliver it over to the military for their own applications. Stark also gets a new assistant (Johansson) who is more than she appears to be. While he has a competitor, Justin Hammer (Rockwell who is trying to steal his thunder and work with the government. After Danko’s attack on Stark, Hammer breaks Danko out of jail and recruits him to tweak his own technology, but Danko has ideas of his own and still wants to avenge himself on Stark. Stark must then bring his forces together with Rhodey (Cheadle) and defeat Danko and Hammer’s army of military drones.
This is a slam bang action film. Favreau’s direction is just as tight as it was in the original. I loved the look of the film and one of my favorite scenes was Drunk Tony in the Iron Man suit at his own birthday party. It was both hysterical and pathetic. The script is very tight, there is a lot of depth in characterization on both Tony and Rhodes and it really cements their connection in the film. It also juggles many subplots very well without the viewer ever feeling like there was too much going on. The cast is superb. Downey as always is funny and charming and makes a great protagonist. Rourke and Rockwell are both great villains. Rourke has a great intensity to his performance and Rockwell plays smarmy and cocky so very well. The shining star though is Johansson, she practically steals the film with her action sequence towards the end. Paltrow gives a solid performance as well, though she is not as used as well as she was in the first film. The SFX and and the action sequences are amazing. The fight between War Machine and Iron Man is a delight to watch and the climactic final battle is mesmerizing too. The score by John Debney and the music in the film really ups the bombastic scope of the film and really make you cheer for the film. This is a solid and entertaining sequel, just not quite as perfect as its predecessor.
This one gets 5 out of 5