ANOMALY //>

Iron Man 2 [2010]

Starring: Robert Downey Jnr, Done Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow

Directed by: Jon Favreau

4/5

Billionaire Tony Stark must contend with deadly issues involving the government, his own friends, as well as new enemies due to his super hero alter ego Iron Man.

I was originally going to wait to catch this on DVD, but found myself being dragged to see it by a friend. Don't get me wrong, i've seen the first Iron Man, and i thought it was enjoyable enough, but it never left me with any lasting impression, and i wasn't going to "rush out" to see it's sequel. I'm glad i did though....

Robert was BORN to play this role. He is SO good as Tony Stark. As intelligent as his character is, he's also a massive douche bag, so for Robert to play him and make him the most likeable guy on screen is pretty impressive. If he was any more charming, the screen would have exploded. Paltrow, who bored me to tears in IM1, seemed a lot more comfortable in her role, and the chemistry between her and Robert was fantastic. The new characters were also fun to watch. Samuel L. Jackson has a small role, but does well with what he is given. Scarlett's role may have been kind of throw away, and she doesn't serve any MAJOR purpose in the film, but it was cool seeing a tough girl in the mix, and she does sultry very well, and that's pretty much what her character was all about. I have no issue with having to look at a hot chic for a couple hours, and she looked VERY good in this. She was great with the action scenes as well, i'm not sure if her way of fighting in the film was a specific style, but i loved how they made her move. I hope to see more of her in future IM films, she's badass. The only other actor who can steal the spotlight from Robert though, is Mickey Rourke. Man, that guy has MAJOR screen presence, he was incredibly intimidating in this, and looked like he had a blast playing the villain. I only wish there was more of him.

When compared to the first movie, i feel like this story had a lot more to offer. Tony Stark doesn't really go anywhere new, but he does learn a couple of new life lesson that move his character along nicely within the series. I also think the new addition of characters bulked up the story nicely and gave us a few different things to look at. Yeah a few of them didn't add any life changing moments to the IM universe, but it was still enjoyable seeing some new faces on screen. I like Iron Man with friends.

Aside from a more entertaining story, i thought the action was more exciting, the villains were more dangerous [including Sam Rockwell] and it was a lot more funnier than the first film. You genuinely care about the characters, and the movie doesn't take itself too seriously along the way.

Iron Man 1 may not have impressed me all that much, but Iron Man 2 did. I'm actually really looking forward to seeing what comes up next.