Iron Man 2 The Sequel

It's been over a week since My wife and I saw Iron Man 2. I've let it digest in and have decided to write my review. Real quick, those who know me, know I am a huge movie geek as well as a Comic Book geek, so I always have special places in my hearts for Comic Book movies, yes even the bad ones. That being said. I really liked it, but didn't love it. SPOILERS BELOW!!!

The first one was an instant classic because as a lot of reviewers have said it focused more on the characters and not the CGI, but in this one you need to surpass the first one with huge set pieces and awesome effects. I get it, and that works, but I feel some of the characters got short shrift, especially Pepper Potts played by Gwenyth Paltrow. She was quite a force in the first one, this one she gets an interesting promotion and they really don't touch on it that much. Don Cheadle steps into the role of James Rhodes and again his character is just kind of there, though he does have a few quick ass scenes as War Machine. Scarlett Johannssen plays the Black Widow, and again gets very few scenes, though like Cheadle, she gets a kick-ass fight scene in full Black Widow regalia, and she is awesome. I wish we could have seen more of her as well. Instead we get a lot of Robert Downey JR., Mickey Rourke, and Sam Rockwell.

Downey I get, he is Iron Man and the main focus of the story SHOULD be on him as it is. He gets some great plot points as he should and the focus is on him. By the way he nails the role and is the perfect actor for it. If only he was slightly younger.

Rourke and Rockwell are the villains and I get they need some time as well, but if that is the case, don't introduce the Black Widow, or get Pepper involved more in the plot. As villains I was slightly disappointed in Rourke's Whiplash. He does not wear the Whiplash costume, though his electric Whips rock. He uses am ARC device like Iron man, and in the final battle he is in a metal suit. Look Iron Man has a lot of villains who are not in Armor, and I realize also that you don't want the villains to wear garish suits, but it is a comic book movie and this is the character. If you wanted another metallic villain you could have had Rourke still be Russian, but he could be the Crimson Dynamo and that would logically lead to having Black Widow in there as well since she is Russian too. But they didn't do that.

Rockwell as Justin Hammer is done a lot better and is closer to the comic book character. And I guess that is where some of my criticism lies. I have got to get it into my head that these movies are not adaptations of the comics, but are using the characters. So keeping that in mind the film is great and gets people interested in the characters so they may check them out in the comics. And that is all I really ask. Go see it you will enjoy it. It is a big Summer Event Film. ENJOY!