In other words, Iron Man (the first movie) was a "one off" in my opinion. Number two was just that (a deuce). Well, not completely. It was a good movie by itself, but don't compare it to the first, or you might be disappointed. This is not nearly as full, or rich as Iron Man, however it does retain enough of the original pop to make it a great watch.

So many moving parts with this movie, it was difficult to get into the story without being distracted and confused. I understand they had a major task of including all the elements of the MCU and get things going, but I also think they realized some years later, that they needed not to rush this beast into existence so quickly and haphazardly, it would have lended itself well in the genesis of what is the MCU without all the awkward additions so quickly.

The villain is a two bit mastermind criminal from Russia, and he's just not very believable, so again this detracts from the experience. However, Downey Jr. Had one of his best performances, and his brightness overshadowed the negative aspects just enough. Also, the robot battles were entertaining, only because of explosions and clanging metal that gives us the feel of something powerful and daunting, enough for us normal humans to be concerned about our safety.

Terrence Howard got booted and replaced by Don Cheadle, there are several different theories. All I can say is the only damage it causes, is to the MCU franchise itself. When you mess with the flow, things tend to lose momentum and credibility, HOWEVER, Cheadle is a great replacement, so as far as acting prowess, nothing was lost.

Introducing Scarlett Johansen, who really smacked this one out of the ballpark. Any missing elements of this movie, she competently fills, and adds a full star to my rating. Although there seemed to be too many cooks in the kitchen, she bring cohesion to that jumbled mess.

Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Tony Stark's relationship deepened, and it was a lot to make that flow just right. When he asks her if their kiss was awkward, I feel like that was not in the script. There always seemed to be something missing with their spark and chemistry from the very beginning. Was Paltrow a good fit for Iron Man?

Sam Rockwell, was a great quasi-villain, however his character had a kinda cheesy feel, like the villains in Batman (Jim Carrey), or some of the CW villains to be honest. Like I said, there are many moving parts with this movie, but a saving grace is Nick Fury who adds another element of something more to come, something bigger and better in the works, if we can only get there. The S. H. I. E. L. D. elements were cultivated fairly well, thanks to both Agent Coulson and Black Widow, stellar performances for sure.

8.4 stars (not the worst MCU by far, but in the bottom 5 for sure)