Iron Man 2

Last we saw Iron Man Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) the world was in store for a new hero; one man that could clean up terrorism, take down evil doers worldwide, and single-handedly deliver world peace. But with great acts of heroism comes a price. Now with pressure from the government, other competitors, and personal medical issues, the narcissistic playboy hero must make new alliances in order to thwart the powers that be and stop the new threat of Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke). Vanko is a talented Russian physicist and son of one of the early inventors of the arc reactor, the technology that gives the Iron Man suit its power. And, what about the women in Tony’s life, how will his personal assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and legal assistant Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) get along, and just what exactly are their motivations for staying so close? iron_man_2_poster Poised to kick off the summer blockbuster season Iron Man 2 offers plenty of bang for your buck in action sequences and cgi graphics. Performance wise, Downey Jr. continues on his streak of well played parts and has fun chemistry with Paltrow. Don Cheadle and Sam Rockwell add nice spice to the lineup as well; but, an underutilized Rourke leaves the viewer feeling perhaps a little less impressed in the villain department. Don’t get me wrong, Rourke is great in his role, I just wish we saw more of him. Other small roles played by Gary Shandling as a U.S. Senator, and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury also round things out nicely. From a screenplay perspective I’m sorry to say there’s not a lot of new material to work with here nor is there anything terribly inventive about how the events of this film play out. It does everything you expect of it, but not a lot else. Bottom line, fun, yes, inventive, no. Worth your dollar? If you liked the first one, you’ll probably enjoy this one too, and remember to sit through all the credits for an extra treat. Iron Man 2 is rated PG-13.