The best thing about the original Iron Man film felt oddly amiss in the follow-up; Robert Downey Jr.. Though the man is nearly in every scene, the rapid fire charisma that was so abundant the first time around felt somewhat subdued - and it wasn't helped by the fact that Iron Man 2 pretty much served as a poster for The Avengers and kind of forgot to be its own movie in the process, what with the addition of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow. That's not to say there aren't enjoyable moments, but Iron Man 2 functions as a collection of random scenes rather than as a fluid cinematic whole - it's too jam packed with random side plots or scenes of world building. What was also surprising was the fact that Mickey Rourke - who should have nailed it as villain Whiplash - puts in a sleepy performance that never really makes an impact. At least Marvel learned their lesson after this one.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
