.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

Iron Man is back in the cleverly named Iron Man 2 with box office bonanzas in sight and another nudge towards the eventual Avengers film due out in the next two years.

Iron Man 2 brings back most of the cast and crew that made the first film an international success. Robert Downey Jr. is back as our hero Tony Stark/Iron Man, Gwyneth Paltrow is back as the lovely Executive Assistant and soon to be CEO, Pepper Potts, and Jon Favreau is back behind the camera in an attempt to build upon a built in audience a la The Dark Knight. Added to the cast are Mickey Rourke as bad guy Whiplash, Sam Rockwell as Stark competitor Justin Hammer, Scarlett Johansson as Natalie Rushman and Don Cheadle who steps into the role of as Lt. Col. James Rhodes from the vacated Terrence Howard.

Iron Man 2 picks up where the first film left off. Tony Stark has outted himself as Iron Man to the world in an effort to continue to stroke his already large ego. While fighting his own demons (aforementioned ego, alcohol), Iron Man has two new menaces in his life. The first comes in the form of a Russian son-of-a-scientist who is able to harness the same kind of Iron Man technology and transforms himself into a creation known as Whiplash. With whips that act as lightening rods, Whiplash is a formidable foe who has the brains to go along with the muscle.

Also a metal thorn in his side is the US military and the arms race lead by Justin Hammer (Rockwell). Hammer recruits Whiplash in an attempt to upstage and unseat Tony Stark as the reigning king of both war and peace.

Much like the trailers indicated, there is a tremendous amount of goings-on in Iron Man 2. Whiplash goes after Tony. Hammer has Whiplash create an army of robot drones (a bit too Robocop-ish for my taste) to attack and destroy Iron Man and all he has built at a Stark Expo. Natalie is not exactly what she appears and Col. Rhodes switches sides more often than Italy during a world war.

Plot devices are not lacking.

Comparisons to the first Iron Man are inevitable. The first film took us by storm and a bit by surprise. Downey was a surprise good fit in the lead character and Favreau showed he could direct a big budget action film. The first Iron Man was fresh and funny. The follow up is a bit more convoluted. Luckily, things go BOOM often enough to keep us geeks on the edge of our seats.

For everything two things there are to applaud the sequel there is something to take it a step back. The action sequences and the Whiplash character were great additions (Rourke really pulls off the confident Russian with a plan), but Tony's immaturity and his rapid fire ramblings missed the mark. A scene of a drunken Iron Man that was supposed to provoke laughter instead was just embarrassing.

Another drawback was the constant attempt to tie this film into a future Avengers film. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) shows up more than once in full recruitment mode and Natasha is often by his side as Black Widow.

Don't get me wrong. There is plenty to like in Iron Man 2. Plenty. The action sequences are well orchestrated and Iron Man/Tony Stark continue to remain an enigma. The film just lacked the freshness of the original. And the final showdown between Whiplash, Iron Man and War Machine was over far too quickly.

As a companion piece, these two films do make for a very entertaining box set. Humor, action and stories that don't dumb down to the audience are all there on display. It might not live up to the quality of the original, but that doesn't mean that I won't buy my ticket in advance for Iron Man 3.