You don’t go into a movie like Iron Man 2 expecting greatness. It’s graded on a curve.
Does it make you laugh? Excite you? Show you things you haven’t seen before? Does it make for a diverting two hours away from the summer sun?
Iron Man 2 does most of those things but it doesn’t do much else. It’s a hodge-podge of ideas and characters that never coalesce into anything meaningful.
This isn’t always the case with sequels, particularly comic book sequels. Superman II raised the stakes of the first film, introduced three formidable villains and stripped Superman of his powers as it developed his relationship with Lois Lane. Spider-Man 2 was a major improvement on the first film, with Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus as the perfect foil for a maturing Peter Parker. And The Dark Knight built on the solid reboot of Batman Begins and, thanks in large part to Heath Ledger’s iconic performance as The Joker, emerged as a visionary masterpiece of a gothic crime movie.
Meet Me In Montauk 