Iron Man 2 picks up not long after the first film. Tony Stark is dying of Palladium poisoning from the arc-reactor embedded in his chest, he is coming under increasing pressure to turn over the Iron Man suit to the US government, especially when a new threat in the form of Whiplash, the alter ego of Ivan Vanko, a Russian physicist with some strong grievances against Stark.
Overall, I had a great time with this film. I really enjoyed the first one, and I get the sense that the studios have learned a lot from the relative flops that were the Spiderman sequels. There are some good nods to the comics, especially with the inclusion of Nick Fury and the SHIELD initiative.
That being said, the script suffers a bit from having to be everywhere at once. Although all the disparate plot lines (Whiplash, Hammer Industries, Government interference, SHIELD, Tony’s own self-doubt) are tied together nicely, the pacing seems choppy at times, with scenes crucial to understanding what’s going on sandwiched in at 30-second snippets between other bigger scenes.
In the end, though, Iron Man 2 is a rough-and-tumble action flick, tempered by some good character performances, especially from Robert Downey, Jr and Gwynneth Paltrow. Â Mickey Rourke also brings a strong presence as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash.
Buy some popcorn and just enjoy the ride.