Iron Man 2.

After I saw Iron Man I stated that it was my favorite super-hero movie. That lasted six weeks until The Dark Knight came out. Iron Man 2 is every bit as good as the original. I am not a big Iron Man comic book fan, I have read some but not much. That has not stopped me from enjoying the movies, but I did have to look a few things up to get a better understanding. The movie universe is much different from the comic book one as far as the characters go. Mickey Roarke was fun watching as Whiplash, even though I never heard him referred to by that name in the movie. The only similarities between him and the comic book version is by name, although they recently did do a story to establish him in the comic book universe. The same can be said for Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell. He is much younger and an American here. I am not complaining about the changes, just pointing them out.

I am not sure exactly why the change was made in the James Rhodes character, with Don Cheadle replacing Terrance Howard, but again it didn't effect the movie. Scarlett Johansson filled out the Black Widow role very nicely. (When do get a Black Widow movie?) Gwyneth Paltrow showed who the real power was in keeping Tony Stark in line. As far as Robert Downey, Jr, he is the perfect choice for Tony Stark. The action is what you would expect for a super-hero movie with great special effects.

The fights were good. My favorites were Mickey Roarke tearing up the race in Monaco and the Iron Man-War Machine slugfest in Tony's house. However, I did find one scene totally unbelievable. I can accept the armor, the whips that Mickey Roarke used, and the robotic soldiers that Iron Man fought. What I can't accept is the scene where Tony talks to Nick Fury. He is sitting inside a large donut on top of a donut shop. Fury calls up to him and he comes down and they have a conversation inside the shop. What I find totally unbelievable that there were no papparazzi anywhere around. Someone would have called about Iron Man in the donut and they would have been swarming the place. (grin)

As with most Marvel movies there is an added scene at the end of the movie. If you are planning on seeing it and don't want to know about it quit reading here.


Agent Colsen of S.H.I.E.L.D. had been with Tony. He leaves and tells Tony that he is going to New Mexico. At the end arrives and we see an archeological dig. As the camera pans we see Mjolner, Thor's hammer.

IMDB rates Iron Man 2 7.5. I rated it 9.