Reviews

Iron Man 2 is the perfect way to kick off the summer of 2010 movie season which, frankly, is something I didn't anticipate I'd be saying. Why? Because the trailers for Iron Man 2 turned me off. Love Robert Downey Jr. and I gave the first Iron Man movie a B+, but the trailers for Iron Man 2 lacked the humor of the first film. In its place the trailers served up what appeared to be battling robots. All I could think was, "Is this a teaser for an Iron Man movie or Transformers 3?" However, those trailers were completely misleading and, thankfully, Iron Man 2 is as good as its predecessor -- and in some ways even better.

By Rebecca Murray

It must be a jumbo-ass pain cooking up a sequel to a movie everyone effing loved the first time. Iron Man wasn't just a big, ballsy, $318 million box-office jackpot in 2008. It reinvented Robert Downey Jr. as an action hero and a genuine movie star. Iron Man 2 -- total blast that it is -- doesn't jazz us with the thrill of discovery. But we do have Downey, still exuding his irresistible loose-cannon vibe in a Hollywood product that'll whup every summer 2010 epic that dares to take it on. Downey is actually better and bug-fuckier than ever, even when the movie buries him in unnecessary clutter. Too many stunts, too many subplots, too many villains jammed in from the Marvel Comics universe, too many romping, stomping, clanking iron armies.

By Peter Travers