Synopsis: The world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the armored Super Hero Iron Man. Under pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands. With Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces. - RottenTomatoes.com

So there I was, sitting in the theatre, waiting for the film to start, waiting for the god forsaken commercials to cease their stupidity. 22 Minutes from the advertised start time, the film actually starts.

So it begins, but I'm not disappointed, just slightly let down by the first half of the film. The opening scene introducing Stark/Iron Man was pretty impressive, I thought the entrance was quite cleverly done, with the whole expo revolving around Stark, just showed how huge his ego was made out to be.

As a whole, the effects were sensational, and a lot of the time found myself concentrating more on the visuals rather than the film itself.

Robert Downey Jr did a good job of keeping his role consistent with the first, but maybe overdid it a little, as it seemed as though his improv-style was losing it's charm. There were scenes where it worked incredibly well, but others it just seemed a little too improvised, talking over some of the other cast members, seeming a little unplanned.

The fight between the two protagonists seemed so entirely unnecessary to me (much like the strut/dance in Spider-Man 3), but fortunately, everything following this moronic segment were the best parts of the film. Seeing Stark in a different light was quite insightful, and definitely put is character in perspective.

Mickey Rourke as Whiplash was such a great casting decision, but it was a shame that he had no more than 15 minutes screen-time. What a shame.

When I'm asked about Iron Man 2, I say "It was good, had it's highs and lows, but it wasn't better than the first". There we have it.

With overall solid performances, great additions from Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson, maybe a little too much going on character-wise, Iron Man 2 was a good film, but unfortunately falls short of it's predecessor.

Still gets a 7/10.

Kazed.