IRON MAN 2

Iron Man 2 stars Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson. Directed by Jon Favreau. Rated PG-13 with a running time of 2 hrs. and 5 mins. Based on the Marvel comic.

The world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark is the armored superhero Iron Man. Under pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands. With Pepper Potts and James "Rhodey" Rhodes at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces. The new forces being Whiplash and Justin Hammer. Oh yeah and that the thing that is keeping him alive is also poisoning his blood.

Robert Downey Jr. once again steals the show as Tony Stark/Iron Man. He is cocky but charming and you can't help but like him. Don Cheadle steps in for Terrence Howard to play James Rhodes/War Machine. Rhodey is Tony's confidant in the military and is also a good friend. It felt wierd seeing Cheadle as Rhodey just because i enjoyed the first Iron Man and I thought Terrence Howard did a perfectly good job. That being said Cheadle does a decent job and is a good War Machine. Paltrow didnt do much in the movie but that was ok because she is not super important to the story. Mickey Rourke was great as the villian Ivan Vanko/Whiplash who has a grudge with the Stark family. He played him as a straight badass and it worked for me. Sam Rockwell plays Justin Hammer who is a rival of Stark Industries and wants very badly to make Iron Man look like an antique. I thought Rockwell did a fine job though he was more funny than menacing. Scarlett Johansson plays Natalie Rushman/Black Widow. She is basically there to look at and kick some ass near the end, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that! Sam Jackson plays Nick Fury who is the director of S.H.I.E.LD. or basically the Avengers Initiative. He is trying to recruit Tony for a special team. Jackson is a great actor and to see him playing the director of the Avengers is pretty awesome. Overall I would not change the cast at all. They all did very well.

Iron Man 2 is a decent superhero movie. Downey Jr. is great as Tony Stark/Iron Man because he is so slick and funny. I have to say the movie sagged a little in the beginning. The first big action scene was a little disappointing but seeing Whiplash for the first time was pretty cool. To me Iron Man needed a third action sequence, after the Monaco scene and before the huge climax. The movie started to pick up once Nick Fury showed up and Tony Stark started to figure out how to find a new element for his suit. That is followed by the climax which was pretty damn awesome. Some great action there. Throughout the movie there is foreshadowing to the future Avengers movie. I thought it was really cool seeing those and having The Avengers start to come together and definitely stay after the credits!! Overall Iron Man 2 wasn't as great as it could have been but it was still a decent superhero movie.

B+