Iron Man 2: Review By Ghostman

Continuing on the road to The Avenger's we have the smash hit blockbuster sequel to Marvel's 2008 critically acclaimed Iron Man! This is the third movie in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) that will lead up to this summer's highly anticipated superhero epic four years in the making, The Avenger's!

When we last left off with Tony Stark, he told the world that "I am Iron Man". Now 6 months later and Mr. Stark is living the high life. With the annual all year round Stark Expo happening soon Tony must help fight his right to keep the suit from Military hands; While being heavily watched over by SHIELD Operatives for substantial recruitment into the Avenger's Initiative from Nick Fury. In the meantime, Ivan Vanko plots his revenge on Stark.....

Iron Man 2 start off great. The first 45 minutes into this movie everything is working just fine, the story is good, the action is plenty of awesome, and it's pretty balanced out. But then, after awhile things get out of hand and a little sloppy in the middle. What I mean by that, is during the entire second act of the film, their is multiple upon multiple story-lines all happening at once. Their's Tony Stark trying to find a cure to his palladium poisoning, Justin Hammer is making mock Iron Man suits, Rhodes is turning over the Mark II armor and gives it to the military. All of this going on at once is a bit too much and unstable. But fear not my friends, and don't worry! Iron Man 2 is just as awesome and entertaining like the first movie was. Except that it features even more action and some silly humor too. Having feared that what started out as a great sequel that soon turned head over heels and tripped over it's own story picked themselves up and got right back on their feet as the final third act made for a satisfying conclusion.

With all that said and done, let's move onto to our talented cast that includes Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell with Mickey Rourke as a cross between Crimson Dynamo and Whiplash who is the main villain. RDJ does the usual greatness at playing Tony Stark who's ever sarcastic humor and attitude just oozes on screen. The one thing that I enjoy about this movie is not just the large amounts of action scenes but Downey Jr's performance is just so cool. The guy is an awesome actor and I can't wait to see his return in The Avenger's! Then we have Gwyneth Paltorw. Who was innocent and a had quite the tension and excellent chemistry in the first film. But in Iron Man 2, she's more annoying and sometimes irritating. Having Terrence Howard not return for the sequel turned me off. It just seemed like that Don Cheadle and RDJ didn't have that "best buddies" type chemistry that him and Howard had together.

Don Cheadle was too serious of a James Rhodes character for me. Sam Jackson and ScarJo make respectable appearances who's roles tie-in to The Avenger's. Then we have Sam Rockwell who is cast as Justin Hammer. Little known fact, Rockwell auditioned for the role of Tony Stark during production of Iron Man. Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer character is such a dick. I hate him, his attitude is like a total jerk on screen. And a Major Ass-Hole if you ask me. If I feel that way towards Rockwell, then I guess he did good. Mickey Rourke. This guy never fails on expectations. He may not be the best actor in the movie, and he doesn't do much but his performance as Whiplash is a good one.

The only problem I had with the first Iron Man movie was that their wasn't enough action in it. And when their was action presented in the movie, it felt short and too predictable. Same goes for Iron Man 2: short predictable fights, but more scenes of action. The story is the same, their is so much going on the same time. You could say the good thing about Iron Man 2 is that instead of taking the same route that TF2 took, it takes quality over quantity. Having a better quality story and action is a nice 'level up' than having too much quantity of action and story.

Overall, Iron Man 2 is an awesome, highly entertaining and great action flick that makes for a good decent movie sequel. Not the best in the MCU but still a satisfying and enjoyable movie to watch. Performances are great, story is good, action is awesome, and the AC/DC soundtrack makes up for some parts of the movie. It may get a bit sloppy in the middle but everything picks up speed and ends excellently.

How does Iron Man 2 fit into The Avenger's?:

Iron Man 2 features a lot of Avenger's material from Captain America's shield, Nick Fury and Black Widow making appearances, the SHIELD Target Tracker near the end of the film and the news footage from the Culver accident that took place in The Incredible Hulk. Also Agent Coulson mentions something about going on another mission that has to do with New Mexico, which is where Thor comes in. Basically, Iron Man 2 was all like "hey! In case you don't know, we're making an Avenger's movie!" and shoved it all in your face.

-McLovin'