IRON MAN 2 was as good as it gets for superhero movies. It is a well-built story using characters and situations dating back to the 1960's. (Hence the nice addition of Tony Stark's dad in filmstrip sequences). The rivalry between him and a cold war Russian inventor plays out a generation later between Tony and the inventor's son, a character known as Whiplash (but never actually called that in the movie). I have to say the writing was top-notch and the characters excellently portrayed. For any armchair psychologists out there, the child-rearing theory of nature vs. nurture surfaces in Whiplash' origin. The young boy grew up in a climate of hate, and well, this is what happens. OK, getting too deep, more on the fun stuff...

Paltrow as Virginia "Pepper" Potts, the director as "Happy" Hogan, and Rockwell as Justin Hammer all did a great job. Mickey Rourke dialed it down a notch and was superb. You will get some laughs from Favreau, functioning mostly as a chauffeur. Adding in the Black Widow (Scarlett Johanson) was a stroke of genius. Her fight sequence deserved applause! A nice touch: her decorative belt rings (first seen in Spiderman issue #86, 1970) became her weapons. Very cool! There's a reason I didn't mention Don Cheadle as Rhodey. His wooden performance was the weak spot of the whole film. I don't get it because he is such a great actor. But his presence was toxic and it looked like he threw off the other actors (noticeably Downey Jr).

This film is great fun, balancing character development, science (best invention - Hammer's "Ex-wife" missile), thrills, politics and laughs. Highly recommended.