Iron Man 2 Review

Go see this in theaters. If you are able, go see this movie in IMAX (not the "IMAX Experience" - theater conversion thing - unless you're a sound connoisseur with money to spend, it's NOT a 7 story IMAX screen).

It's too much fun to miss.

Iron Man 2 is what a sequel should be. There's bigger action set pieces, but Favreau lets all that be motivated. There is an honesty to this movie that Michael Bay could really take a lesson from. Favreau's treatment of big action and sex appeal all comes from the characters, it hardly even comes from the plot. And that's what makes the action better.

RDJ is, once again, fantastic. Wait for a small moment Stark spends in the company of his father's memory, and you'll buy anything Stark will deal with or is capable of.

One of my only issues with the first movie was the writing for Pepper Potts. She was, at first, written as a strong woman who took nothing from anyone and did her job well. She later turned into one dimensional damsel in distress, running with flailing arms from the badguy. I thought Gweneth saved the movie by playing it with such great blankness to the script that she nearly pulled it off.

In this film I came to better understand Pepper Potts. And it has saved the character in the first film for me. Paltrow is given so much more to work with but her character stays very true to what my original issue was.

And honestly, I admit the "issue" with the character a bit sheepishly. Apparently I wanted a one dimensional character and thought Paltrow was infusing life and connection between two separate flat characters. After the second installment, I'm won over by Pepper. She is one of the better written women in cinema (I say it unapologetically). Women are traditionally treated to one dimension in movies, and Pepper Potts is far from it. And Paltrow gives us the perfect portrayal. She is a woman. She doesn't want physical fighting. She doesn't have training or the desire to get in to combat. But she DOES take care of business. And she isn't afraid of anyone when it comes to matching wits. Pepper Potts is essentially a normal, innocent human being in a world filled to the brim with one or the other - super power people or fleeing bystanders.

Even though Don Cheadle opens us back to Lt. Rhodes with a line meant as much for the audience as for Stark, "I'm here, let's get used to it, let's move on," you can't help but draw comparisons of Cheadle and his former embodiment, Terrance Howard.

I liked Terrance Howard better. Don't get me wrong, I love everything Cheadle does, and he was very good here. It's just that Howard has this constant sense of discovery and humility all over his face, but then he is unbelievably cool and in control at the same time. Howard's presence was the perfect play off of Downey, Jr.

But what are you gonna do? You got to hand it to Marvel for knowing their budget, giving their terms, and not getting bloated over their success with one film (like so many others, including a little Batman and DC debacle we still haven't recovered from). They're an exciting studio to watch because they are turning a lot of things in the business on its head.

Ultimately Cheadle is the only possible replacement, and he does well. I wonder if most of what I miss is just from the inescapable comparison, and not a real judgement of chemistry.

But, see the movie... Now.