Iron Man 2

Just as good as the first one (I know I was over the moon about it and gave it five stars, but that was because Tony arrived with such a bang and so this time I simply expected it) with better action scenes, dialogs full of equally snappy lines and no longer just winking, but literally hitting you over the head with Marvel Cinematic Universe references. Downey Jr. is just as awesome as ever - this is the role he was born to play. We don't get to see much of Mickey Rourke, but while he's on screen, it's well worth it, just like Rockwell's slippery Justin Hammer, who relishes the part. I'm afraid of what dubbing will do to the movie, because I personally enjoyed the intense verbal exchanges much more than the action itself. Superb. A light yet grown-up entertainment that will always have a place in my heart. And I want that briefcase! Claridge Hi-Tec, semi-automatic, 9mm pistol. Too downtown? I agree. M24 shotgun, pump action. Five-round magazine. You know what? You’re not a hunter. What am I talking about? I’m getting rid of it. This is the FN-2000 from Belgium. They do make something better than waffles. It’s beautiful, but I can tell this isn’t disco enough for you, so I’m gonna put it right here. You’re looking at a Milkor 40mm grenade launcher. Tear gas, smoke. Hippie control. You’re tough. Let me tell you something. Size does matter. Don’t let anyone tell you different. This is an M134 7.62 Minigun. Six individual barrels. The torso taker, powder maker. Our boys in uniform call in Uncle Gazpacho or Puff the Magic Dragon. Okay. These are the Cubans, baby. This is the Cohibas, the Montecristos. This is a kinetic-kill, side-winder vehicle with a secondary cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine RDX burst. It’s capable of busting the bunker under the bunker you just busted. If it were any smarter, it would write a book. A book that would make “Ulysses" look like it was written in crayon. It would read it to you. This is my Eiffel Tower. This is my Rachmaninoff’s “Third"... My “Pieta". It’s completely elegant. It’s bafflingly beautiful. And it’s capable of reducing the population of any standing structure to zero. I call it the Ex-Wife. (09/04/2010)

With Iron Man 2, director Jon Favreau excellently exploits the potential of the stellar cast, where even supporting roles look tailor-made for their actors – the one-eyed Samuel L. Jackson in a leather coat, a corrupt white-collar Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson getting in Blade-like fights. All of them, of course headed by Robert Downey Jr., seem to be enjoying themselves immensely (perhaps only the psychopathic Russian inventor played by Mickey Rourke could have used some more character development). But the story itself has absolutely nothing to engage the audience – there is practically no drama or tension and there are barely two action scenes, which take up about ten minutes of the two-hour running time (!). Actually, it is kind of a miracle how a comic-book adaptation with such a boring script can end up as a pleasant conversation movie. (04/27/2010)

This is a film where you can see the high budget in every shot, with a polished visual, and lots of digital effects, so it's nice to watch as things explode, fly around, and shocking technological inventions and cute robots appear. Many stars parade on the screen, mostly unused and only used as decorations, and when they do appear, they don't have much to do because the story itself is a broken mess. It's the type of film for the whole family, which my 8-year-old son could consume without any problems because the world and events it shows are either directly childish or desperately immature. When you want to cater to the market to maximize profits and attract as many viewers as possible, you inevitably have to lower the content demands. Because I've been eight years old a few times already, I lost interest in the plot quickly, and the fate of the heroes was as meaningless to me as a grain of sand in the Sahara. Overall impression: 40%. (10/22/2010)

Considering that in terms of Robert Downey Jr.'s current characters, I tolerate Iron Man more than his version of Sherlock Holmes, I can have more fun with this sequel than with A Game of Shadows. The second film is funnier and more straightforward because Iron Man is already defined, but on the other hand, the primary fun is hampered a bit by Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell, or dumb and dumber. Scarlett Johansson is also very weak, but the main aspects still work. Gwyneth Paltrow has managed to stop aging and I'm actually quite looking forward to the third film mainly because of her. I probably won't see anything as stupid as Stark Expo 1974 again, but why not? And yes, Stan Lee is still with us. (05/02/2013)

Where is the taciturnity and momentum of the first film? Where is Stark's strong personal charm? The second film amounts to watery, scattered, and terribly lifeless blabbering of the star-studded characters, whose dialogues and jokes often feel like they were written by a five-year-old (I admit that the problem may be the dubbing, but unfortunately, that is hardly going to change my impression until I see the version with subtitles). I forgave Favreau’s routinism in the first film because Downey's character had an edge. In the second film, most of the beautiful things are gone, and all that remains is chatter, outdated humor, and surprisingly Downey, who seems to be so convinced about his own irresistibility that he completely ignores the emptiness of his dialogues. There is something wrong with a comic book film that does not get me out of my seat in two hours with even one ballbusting moment. I cannot give the dubbed version more than one star... (04/27/2010)