In 2008, Marvel Studios released a film adaptation of Iron Man. It did amazingly well at the box office, and was well received by critics. This year, the follow up Iron Man 2 has hit theatres. Does it measure up to the quality set by the first movie?

Lock up the liquor cabinet and hide the women. Iron Man is back!

The movie opens up with Tony Stark being Tony Stark. He’s a first class narcissist with a lust for life and a suit of armor. Iron Man is an international celebrity and the greatest asset to the United States’ national security. Everything’s coming up roses, and nothing can possibly go wrong.

As you’ve probably already guessed, everything goes wrong. This movie attempts to make Tony Stark grow even more as a character, and they accomplish this by breaking him down to his lowest ebb. However, no matter how down this movie gets, it never stops being fun. Robert Downey Jr. continues to deliver as Stark the whole way through, making the character’s downward spiral strangely enjoyable to watch.

Gwenyth Paltrow returns as Tony’s assistant Pepper Potts, and gets a more prominent role this time around. Don Cheadle replaces Terrance Howard as Rhodey, and it’s of no surprise to anyone that the character takes on the mantle of War Machine in this film. Oh, and it is glorious. Director Jon Favreau once again casts himself as Happy Hogan, and you can’t really fault him for making his role in the movie a tad bigger. Everything comes off as just a little bit bigger in this one.

Iron Man and War Machine

The antagonists turned out to be an interesting bunch. Both Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) and Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) are presented as mirror opposites of Tony Stark, each in their own way.

Samuel L. Jackson returns as Nick Fury, continuing the plot thread started in the after-the-credits scene in the first movie. And oh yes, you’d better stay after the credits for this movie, too.

Iron Man 2 is action-packed, fun, and has just the right touch of emotion without completely changing the tone of the film. If you enjoyed the first movie, I definitely recommend it. Even if you haven’t seen the first movie, Iron Man 2 is a great action movie that starts the Summer Blockbuster Season off with a bang.