Review:
Iron Man 2

What is it about sequels that's gets us excited? Is it the chance to re-enter the world we were so thrilled by for one hundred and twenty minutes the first time? Or is it watching the characters we identified with the first time continue to develop and reveal more of themselves to us this time around?

When it comes to big budget blockbusters spawning sequels, who on occasion give birth's to sequels of their own (there is a difference between X-Men 1,2 and 3 and say The Lord of the Rings trilogy, trust me), it seems like the summer movie season has become some putrid breeding ground (perhaps its the warm weather), yet when a sequel becomes a worthy film in it's own right it is often overlooked.

Iron Man 2 hit theaters this weekend, and this lucky writer got a chance to score an advanced screening. Does the latest superhero popcorn flick deliver? Read on and find out.

Believe it or not there was a time when Iron Man was considered a fairly unknown character in the Marvel universe. He's an Avenger, and has been one of the most complex characters to grace the pages of funny books in recent history. But, up until his first foray on to the big screen, good ol' Tony Stark couldn't hold a candle next Spidey and The Hulk when it came to popularity among the masses. Sure, there was his short lived cartoon series in the early nineties, the key word in that statement being “short lived,” and his occasional video game appearance, but other than that the world at large hardly gave a hoot about Tony Stark, let alone the scientific world he rules over.

Enter 2008 and the astonishing success of Marvel Studio's first in house film Iron Man and now all the sudden it's “Spidey-who? Give me Stark Industries,” and rightly so. Let's face it, the first film rocked. Robert Downey Jr. captured the essence of brilliant billionaire alcoholic Tony Stark flawlessly, with a supporting cast that included Gweneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges, and villains most movie goers were generally afraid of, terrorists.