I don’t know what it is that has never really worked for Downey, but is has certainly re-established himself since Iron Man came out. He can carry off the narcissistic Tony Stark like no one else, and is definitely fun to watch.

The concept of Iron Man itself is one of those comics that passed me by. Of course I know of Iron Man, and a basic understanding of the story but beyond that I really don’t know how Iron Man fits into the Marvel universe. Some of that history is coming out in this film, along with references to other films in production. I counted three, but I might have missed something.

So how does this one stand-up? In short it has its moments, but overall it does not have the same feel or impact of the first.

What’s happened?

This is still a great film! There is plenty of action and the effects are even better than the first film. But it just does not have that feel that makes the first film so much fun. In the first you have a very gritty opening and the growth of stark from a self-obsessed arsehole to self-obsessed super hero.

Here I didn’t feel there was much in the way of story. There were plenty of characters, and quiet a few of them were very interesting. From Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, or Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow but none of them had much time to do anything.

There was some action with them, and Black Widow had a chance to show her fighting credentials, but that was about the sum of it. Which is a shame because I was expecting something more between her and Iron Man.

While Nick Fury was there to push The Avengers idea into the film, again his character was never really explored in any way. Not really a surprise in this film I suppose, but a shame.

For me the star of the show has to be Sam Rockwell. He is always fantastic in everything he does, and again here he is stealing the show. But the film doesn’t give him the chance to do much more than just be a pissed off CEO who likes to shout and resent Tony Stark. But his scene where he is showing off his weapons is great fun.

The biggest let down for me was Whiplash. The scenes where he is not fighting are OK, passable. But when it comes to action there is just not enough. Even though the film is long enough, and plenty of time is given to show the characters. Nothing much seems to happen. I didn’t feel like I saw much growth apart from a tiny moment with Tony Stark and his dad that I thought was very nicely done.

Conclusion

There is no denying this is a good film. It is great fun to watch and the effects will make you smile. But there was a lot that I think could have been trimmed or at least taken in a different direction.

Get your popcorn and settle in!

Don’t forget you need to stay right to the end of the film. Get right through the credits and there is a treat waiting for you!