...and I was thinking broadly the same thing. If you're 12 years old,if you have an IQ of 80, or if you otherwise still read comic books,then I guess you may derive some buzz from the glamorised violence, thehot chicks, the flawless special effects, or the rocking soundtrack.If, on the other hand, you would prefer something with a little moredepth to it, something that fully exploited the acting talents of the(very fine) cast, something with genuine character development in whichyou might become emotionally invested, then keep looking. Overall, awaste of absolutely world-class talent, but I guess everybody needs toget paid. Having myself wasted £4 at Blockbuster, I now need to watch"Shakespeare in Love" and "Girl with a Pearl Earring" back-to-back justto cleanse myself. Grrrrr!

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) discloses to the world that he is theIron Man and the senate presses him to deliver his technology tomilitary purpose but Tony refuses telling that he has brought peace tothe world. Meanwhile, the evil Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) surprises theworld attacking the Iron Man in Monaco with his armored suit. Ivan isarrested but Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) releases him simulating hisdeath. Meanwhile Tony is depressed expecting to die sooner andLieutenant Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes (Don Cheadle) steals anarmored suit from Tony and brings it to the army. The high commanddelivers the technology to Justin Industry to weapon the armor and Ivanbuilds an army of remote controlled suit of armors.

"Iron Man 2" is a festival of special effects and shattered glasses.The hero Tony Stark is an unpleasant and arrogant character and thefilm is recommended for fans of Transformers and explosions. My vote isfive.

Title (Brazil): "Homem de Ferro 2" ("Iron Man 2")

The plot: There are 2 story threads here that merge. 1. The governmentand military are putting pressure on Tony Stark to turn over the IronMan Technology to them. 2. Some Russian guy blames Tony's dad for thepersecution and death of his own father and seeks revenge. How he goesabout it ties into the government's claims that the Iron man technologyis better served by giving it to them. Analysis: Enjoyableaction-filled movie; well acted and written. Worth your time. If you'renot a comic book buff or nut you don't need to read further. You haveall you need.

Some entertainers (actors, musicians, athletes, IMDb reviewers,etc.)use a "stage" name and the public is generally unaware of their realname or private identity. But if some find out what their real name is(as sometimes happens) it might not matter because they're morefamiliar with the stage name and persona and prefer it. In thisinstance the private identity is eclipsed or overshadowed by thefamiliar and public persona. However, because Tony Stark is well knownin his own right as a famous inventor and head of a well known company(Stark Industries, Inc.) this would not happen. Not to mention the factthat he enjoys attention; seems to need it; thrives on it; is a bit ofa ham.

So I gotta ask: when people see Iron Man flying across the sky, do theysay, "There goes Iron Man", --or do they say, "There goes Tony Stark"?There are practical reasons why super heroes (and people involved inimportant and dangerous operations) need a secret identity; need tomaintain a separation; and I'm sure you can guess them. So while Ienjoyed the movie, and while I know it's just fantasy, I cannot helpbut wonder at the unnecessary and foolish recklessness and vanity ofTony Stark that makes him put so much at risk in order to share thelimelight with his alter ego Iron Man. And this is beside the point:What is it about good-looking women in form-fitting outfits that beatpeople up that turns me on? Love, Boloxxxi.

"This movie was an totally awesome movie". Thats what my 7 year oldniece told me. Need I say more? I tried to sit down and watch thismovie and good lord it was not easy. At least scarlet johanson was inthis, too bad her wardrobe did not keep me interested enough, maybe alittle ass shots or something would have kept me watching but nope. Allthis was, was a big movie corporation making more money off kids withnothing but crap. In fact part one wasn't that bad compared to thisone. Although to tell you the truth I didn't even finish watching thismovie. So if it has a killer ending with a twist you would not believethen Im sorry. But Im sure the ending is just as horrible as the firsthour that I sat through. I give this crapfest 2 shwag blunts down.

Two years ago I was bored with part one,I was not as bored this timeout. This sequel written & directed by same team that made part one ismore fun to watch. Jon Favroux directed & Justin Theroux wrote thescreenplay,which was taken from Stan Lee's comic strip. Robert DowneyJr, Gwyneth Paltrow are leads,Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard,thevillain this time out is Mickey Rourke. Sam Rockwell,Samuel Jackson areon board as well. Scarlett Johansson in a red wig is here as well.

All are talented & do perform well under Jon Favroux's very capabledirection.

Running time before the credits is about 113 minutes,over 90 of themare well done computer effects.

I do hope they forget about doing part 3,.there is nothing thatmemorable about the characters to warrant another film.\ My ratings sayit all. a low 3 star rating.

Ratings: *** (out of 4) 81 points (out of 100) 7 (out of 10)

I really liked this movie. Robert Downey Jr. is, in my mind, the secondbest actor at portraying a certain superhero, #1 being Hugh Jackman asWolverine. RDJr is Tony Stark and knocks it out of the park with hisperformance. You can't help but love the guy. He's funny, narcissistic,caring, and honest. He was absolutely fantastic in the senate hearingscene.

Gwyneth Paltrow is starting to grow on me. I didn't care for her in"Iron Man" but she seemed to do a pretty decent job in this. I hopethey turn her into Rescue in "Iron Man 3".

Don Cheadle also impressed me as Rhodey/War Machine. He's a much betteractor than Terrence Howard, who is now stuck doing "Law and Order:L.A.". Seeing Rhodey return as an Avenger would be sweet.

Rourke was great as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash. I just wish he'd gotten morescreen time. I also didn't care for his battle armor at the end of themovie. It looked kind of stupid.

Scarlett Johansson (mm, mm) was mostly there to draw in the other maleswho were hesitant about seeing this. It probably worked. I'm especiallyglad we'll see her again in "The Avengers". Also, to any Marvel execswho might happen upon this: PLEASE MAKE A BLACK WIDOW MOVIE!!!!PLEASE!!!!!!!! Sam Rockwell was also good, though a tad annoying, asJustin Hammer (with his Hammeroids. great line from RDJ). He seemedliked he really had fun with the role.

Samuel L. Jackson. Enough said. He was in 2 scenes as Nick Fury and hewas great. Samuel L. Jackson is a real crowd pleaser and never ceasesto entertain us.

The action was pretty good, except for the final battle (Iron Man andWar Machine vs. Whiplash). It seemed too short and not much happened.

This movie is also very funny. When Natalie is introduced is a greatscene (for several reasons) and, as I wrote earlier, the senate scenewas my favorite scene.

Jon Favreau, the director, really seems to know what he's doing. I hopeis somehow involved with "The Avengers".

All in all, this is a good action packed superhero adventure that willmake you laugh and want to watch it again and again.