Tony Stark is in the midst of a media scramble as his revelation that he is Iron Man has taken on a world of its own, but a new enemy is lurking and soon he will have to face reality. Iron Man 2 takes off very soon after the first film ended, and Stark (Downey Jr.) is still the outlandish fun, albeit arrogant and narcissistic, Iron Man. He launches the Stark Expo to the applause and scantily clad dancers. He is still the same Stark. From the opening scene, we quickly learn that he is to battle one of the smartest villains ever devised, a Russia physicist on a mission to destroy Stark for the humiliation his father brought down on his family. It is a battle of both strength and wits. Making matters worse, the energy source that Stark devised to keep himself alive and power his Iron Man suit is also killing him. In order to live – and battle the dangerous foe that is attempting to destroy the peace created from Iron Man's existence – Stark must look to the past, his father, for the answers. It is a battle of wills for the young entrepreneur turned super hero and the world may need him at least one more time to save the day. The success of the first Iron Man was predicated on entertaining the audience in a natural and fun manner and Iron Man 2 more than compliments the first film. Downey Jr. is at home in his role and it is hard to picture anyone else taking on the Iron Man/Tony Stark position. To put it mildly, he is brilliant. The flow and tenacity in which he plays the duel persona is hard to match, with only Christian Bale's Batman/Bruce Wayne comparing. Iron Man 2 has everything needed in a sequel. It has great action scenes, new characters that live up to the requirements. Where other sequels often get bogged down in outdoing the original, Iron Man 2 succeeds in the fact that in many ways it was written as another beginning, as we see the Avenger Initiative begin to come into play. Scarlet Johansson plays her role as one of the Avengers to near perfection. She doesn't say a lot, but literally packs a nice punch to add to the overall maturity and ease of the cast. Iron Man 2 is the perfect sequel that, upon DVD release, can be watched simultaneously with the first film to create one large film that is certain to entertain and be enjoyed by all. BM
