Iron Man 2 (2010)

Directed by Jon Faverau

Written by Justin Theroux

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson

Billionaire industrialist Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) has now revealed himself as Iron Man, a protector in a metal suit. 6 months after the events of the first one, Tony is attacked by Ivan Vanko (Rourke), a man with a personal vendetta against him. He must also contend with the fallout his announcment had on his friends Pepper Potts (Paltrow) and James Rhodes (Cheadle).

After a streak of semi disappointing comic book sequels, including X3 and Spiderman 3, Iron Man 2 comes as a breath of fresh air. Everything in this movie is great, from the acting, to the writing, and even the effects. Tony Stark is a more rounded out character this time around. He actually has more depth to him, something that I felt the first one was missing. And I love that they padded out the role of Pepper Potts. She was one of my favorite characters the first time around, and it was cool to see her around more.

The villain was awesome. Mickey Rourke is a great actor, and is at his best as Vanko. I know I was supossed to root for Iron Man, but sometimes I found myself rooting for him instead. In the words of Ferb, a hero's a hero, but everybody loves a good villain.

When I first heard about the recasting of James Rhodes from Terrance Howard to Don Cheadle, i was a bit ticked. Howard has been one of my favorite actors since Hustle and Flow and Crash. It all turned out great, though because Cheadle took the character to new levels of toughness that I'm afraid Howard wouldn't be able to pull off.

If you do go see this, make sure to stay after the credits for a nice surprise.

9/10

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language.

There isn't much to worry about with this one. There is some intense violence, where people are hurt and possibly killed. Tony is an alcoholic, and drinks frequently, and he makes continuous sexual advances toward Scarlett Johannson's character. I'd say about 11+

Just arrived in theatres 2 weekends ago. It should be on DVD by September.