Now that Iron Man 2 has dropped upon us all, is it safe to say that it was not quite the level of awesome that it was hoped to be? Don’t get us wrong, it was a solid film, but it wasn’t exceptional. In fact, compared side by side next to its predecessor, is one really better than the other? Are they really any different, aside from the villains, both of which employ the same tactic (of stealing the “Arc Reactor Technology” embedded within Mr. Tony Stark)?

Hear us out okay. Favreau’s style and in-depth focus is definitely a strong point, however, it loses some of it’s luster when it’s practically repeated in the second film. Both films rely on a lengthy health battle concerning Stark (Arc Reactor Construction/Palladium Blood Poisoning), for the beginning half, if not two-thirds, of the film. We get a glimpse of some action mid-way to keep the normals from falling asleep in the theater (Ten Rings Terrorists/Monaco Grand Prix). Finally we get the main battle at the end, which was a bit more personal the first time around due to the Pepper Potts danger factor. Granted Potts was in danger again this time around, but it was briefly towards the end. Besides, fighting an actual human will garner more emotion from an audience versus stoic drones. Think about it, how many Storm Trooper deaths really hit you in your ticker?

Getting into the rest of the film, can we just say that the whole “Drunk Tony Stark Birthday Party” was just a step above the deplorable Jazz Dance Scene in Spiderman 3. The scene’s only savior was when Stark squared off with Lt. Colonel Rhodes. In a way, it was sloppy. Favreau & company could’ve come up with something better because, in fact, they pride themselves on it.

Our final beef has to do with the length of Sam Jackson’s screen time as Nick Fury. We’ve no problem casting Jackson in the role. The thing with his extended exposure, is that he loses some of his badass credibility. The rapport they had throughout totally took away from Fury’s mysterious, official aura. Had he been a bit more stoic, or short with Stark, things would’ve been a bit more serious and given the Avengers Initiative & S.H.I.E.L.D side-plots more gravitas.

The funny thing about all of this, is that we still dug the film. We won’t get into the specifics of Howard Stark as Walt Disney or the convenient “New Element” invented, as we understand those are parts of fiction that need not be nitpicked. We get that when it comes to sequels, the usual successful mantra is “Same, but different”, however, Iron Man 2 might be a little too formulaic for its own good. To re-iterate, this film is by no means “bad”. It’s just not much better than the first, if at all.