MOVIE REVIEW: Iron Man 2

Finally saw Iron Man 2 with the Other Half on a lazy Memorial Day after tennis from the French Open was done for the day.

The sequel has now grossed nearly 300 million dollars since its release on Friday May 7th. At rottentomatoes.com it has a rating of 74% (which is significantly lower than the original which is rated at 93%).

The film stars Robert Downey, Jr, Gwyneth paltrow, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke and Scarlet Johanssen.

Unfortunately, as with most summer blockbusters, the challenge of repeating a success is too much for many films and the sequel is less enjoyable than the original.

The plot literally makes no sense whatsoever, and multiple sequences seem to have been included merely to provide the opportunity for huge explosions.

Downey is fine and replays his narcissistic version of billionaire Tony Stark a bit too convincingly. Oscar-winner Paltrow is merely annoying as Downey's sidekick and purported love interest. The appearance of Don Cheadle to play the character originated by Terrence Howard in Iron Man is just offensive. It leaves the impression the director and producer felt that one black actor is indistinguishable from another.

The best part of Iron Man 2 is Mickey Rourke, who plays an excellent, creepy villain in Ivan Stanko. There is a deliberate effort to connect to the Iron Man character to upcoming Marvel Studios films featuring Captain America and The Avengers which will be arriving in future summers.

The movie has some mildly entertaining sequences but overall it's really a movie you can wait to see on cable.

Running Time: 2 hours, 4 minutes.
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language.
Director: Jon Favreau.

OVERALL GRADE: B/B-.

ACTING: B.
IMAGERY: A-.
PLOT: C.
IMPACT: B-.