Off My Mind: The Iron Man 2 Review

Let me start out by saying that I liked Iron Man when I was a kid. I had watched the old 60s cartoons on a channel that ran old shows. I thought he was pretty cool and we shared the first same name. The first Iron Man movie was a breath of fresh air in terms of comic book movies. When it came to the sequel, I had high expectations even though I didn't want to have them. I didn't want to be let down. Before watching an early screening, I started hearing some mixed comments on it.

The Iron Man movies differ from some of the other current comic book movies. They don't go the dark/brooding route that other movies shoot for. Although, this one does begins with a slightly darker tone. We get introduced to Whiplash's character. The music and mood really set things up. We all know it's going to be a fun movie with Robert Downey Jr and the rest of the cast so this was a nice set up. We get a good introduction and find out what's been going on since the first movie without feeling like it's all forced upon us. The pacing of the movie really worked for me. It's a two hour movie and the majority of it moves along without the feeling that things are dragging.

We have a big cast, how do they rate? Robert Downey Jr nails it again as Tony Stark. You've probably seen the Senate hearing scene in the trailer. We see just how arrogant, smart and witty Tony Stark can be. Gweneth Paltrow does a nice job as Pepper Potts. There's no need to be concerned over Don Cheadle's performance as War Machine. Jon Favreau gets more screen time as Happy Hogan and it's all enjoyable. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury didn't really feel like any acting was involved, just Sam being Sam but with an eye patch. Sam Rockwell does a great job as Justin Hammer, playing both a bumbling yet sometimes scary villain. Mickey Rourke oozes his presence as Whiplash and says a lot without having to speak much. Some parts to Whiplash's character might leave you with questions but you just have to overlook them while watching. I was really surprised over Scarlett Johansson's performance as Black Widow. I had some tiny doubts when she was first cast but when we see her in action, there's no question over the casting. As you can see, there's a big cast. It would've been nice to get a little more screen time with some of the characters but that's the sacrifice of having so many cool characters in an action movie.
== TEASER ==

The story of the movie works. I like that the origin is out of the way so we can see more action between the characters. I mentioned that the movie moves along at a good pace but my problem was towards the end. You've seen the big armor fight scene in the trailer and while it was cool, there were some things that didn't work for me. Seeing Iron Man fight other armored foes is cool but it felt like there should have been more.

You can expect little Easter Eggs and nods to the past. We get bits of the Avengers Initiative and more information on Howard Stark. Sitting in the theater, the audience actually cheered over some of the bits that were revealed.

My rating for the movie is a 4.5 out of 5. I'm not saying it's a perfect comic book movie but it was highly entertaining. It had a lot to deliver and it did. We get action, humor, big visuals and effects, pretty much everything you would want in an action movie. I simply had fun. I'm ready to watch it again. (And make sure you stay until after the credits).