‎IRON MAN 2
4 out of 5 stars

"i have successfully privatized world peace." - tony stark


well, i have to say for the sequel to iron man, which i thoroughly enjoyed... this kept the momentum and energy of the first one going strong! :) (esp. with new cast members i.e. black widow and ivan vanko AKA whiplash)

if you haven't seen iron man, i highly recommend that you do ASAP! this sequel picks up exactly where we left off: tony stark revealing to the world that he is indeed IRON MAN. unlike batman or superman, he has NO problem whatsoever to the general public knowing his full identity. afterall...what's the point of being a superhero if you can't take the credit, right? so, after assuring the u.s. govt and the world that no one else possesses his technology, halfway across the globe, ivan vanko (mickey rouke with a convincingly scary russian accent) produces the same ARC reactor core the iron man suit uses for fuel... so when whiplash emerges with a bang @ the monte carlo grand prix, iron man is in for a major surprise! (probably the best scene in the entire movie, IMO) this wouldn't be a superhero movie w/o another villian. justin hammer (sam rockwell) emerges as tony's rival as a fellow defense contractor, and they team up to take down iron man. or should i say, so they think they can... ;)

RDJ is just awesome as the narcissistic, ego-maniac tony stark, and his continuous bickering with assistant/now CEO of stark industries pepper potts is priceless... (just like he was in the first movie) i think what makes this movie GREAT is sam rockwell as justin hammer, tony stark's competitor AND mickey rourke. however, this one committed a spiderman 3, where there just were too many characters involved in the storyline. we really could have done it w/o the black widow (scarlett johansson), but i guess they felt like they needed an "insider" @ stark industries to keep an eye on tony.? (whatevs...) but BIG KUDOS to mickey rourke who turns himself into a convincing angry russian with a vengeance down to the greasy hair and prison tats! mick, you make this one worthwhile... ;)