Gotta love Tony Stark!  Robert Downey Jr. was born to play this guy.  Director Jon Favreau knows tone & uses it to guide us through a fantastical world. A world where men glide across the sky in klunky metallic suits with booster rockets in their boots.  No matter how unbelievable the action, in ‘Iron Man 2,’ it ALWAYS comes back to one thing:  Good acting.  The cast is solid, with Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johanssen & a downright dedicated Mickey Rourke as Ivan Danko.  Rourke deserves credit for taking a not-so-serious movie role, so very serious.  Going method, Rourke found himself in Russia spending many hours with hardened Russian prisoners and Russian prison guards.  He also immersed himself in the culture of criminal tattoos authentic to the region & even sported Russian prison beads that were hand-crafted from melted down cigarette lighters.  The result is a Superhero movie villain you wished had more screen time.

“Iron Man” fans will hold their heads up walking out of the multiplex.  The film delivers exactly what it should.  Smirky Stark humor, fresh dialogue & a clever back story to the connection between Howard Stark (Tony’s Dad) & the Vanko family whose names was disgraced hence the vengeance of disgruntled son, Ivan.   I really didn’t like the scene where Tony Stark hosts a party in the Iron Man suit.  Really drunk, really forced & just plain lame.  If that was the best way to get James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) upset enough to don one of Tony’s extra Iron Man suits, maybe the writers should grabbed strong coffee & donuts & extended the writing session.

At the end of the day, don’t try to overthink ‘Iron Man 2.”  People should remember it’s not Oscar Season, it’s Blockbuster Season.  Grab a popcorn doused in butter & blast off with Tony Stark. I did & it was awhile before I came down to earth.  Can’t wait to see it again.

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