Iron Man 2

If you thought Tony Stark revealing who he is to the world in Iron Man was something, what follows in the much-anticipated sequel from last year, Iron Man 2, makes his revelation look like a mere footnote in a newspaper.

Six months after revealing he is Iron Man, Tony Stark has new problems, ranging from a U.S. Senator wanting to confiscate his technology for military purposes, a rival defense contractor seeking to one-up him, and the arc reactor which has been keeping Stark alive is slowly poisoning him.  On top of that, a man connected to his father's past enters the scene with only one purpose in mind: revenge against the Stark family.  Well, it could be worse!

Some sequels are as not as good as their predecessors, and a few surpass them, but Iron Man 2 is as equally good as Iron Man.  The cast, which featured quite a few familiar faces, carried the film well.  As expected, Robert Downey, Jr. delivered once again as Tony Stark, as did other standouts like Mickey Rourke as the film's villain, Ivan Vanko, and Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer, the complete antithesis of Tony Stark.

Scarlett Johansson, as Natasha Romanoff,  only got to shine towards the end of the film, while Samuel L. Jackson, as Nick Fury, is there to primarily help move the story along, but director Jon Favreau, who also reprised his role as Stark's chauffeur, provides quite a bit of the comic relief in an enlarged part.  And, of course, the face of Marvel Comics himself, Stan Lee, makes a cameo appearance as Larry King (you need to watch the film to get it).

I enjoyed watching Iron Man when it came out, and I enjoyed watching Iron Man 2; I knew I should've seen it in theaters! I give it three (of four) stars.