Initially, I had no desire to see Iron Man but with the new movie coming out and a double feature available, I thought why not. Wow, was I dumb to wait so long. Downey as Tony Stark was riveting and reminded me why I enjoy his acting. He can command your attention, forcing you to miss smaller details. In addition, the movie's writing, direction, and location shoots were amazing. You could feel the emotions jumping off the screen: the fear, anger, betrayal, romantic interest, animosity. It was worth the money to see and if you can, watch it on the big screen. Well worth the admission price. You could tell the amount of detail that went into creating the world and it was a very, very, very well done movie. Even if you haven't read the comics like me, you still get the feel of the world. That takes a lot of talent.
While the film was not as good as the first, it is a very nice follow up. I was impressed with the acting caliber and the high level of writing to match the first. It flowed seamlessly, which can be difficult on some franchises. The action was amazing, kind of like watching someone destroy Disney World. Special effects were impressive and it was hard to tell the fake from real settings. Cheadle was a great replacement, I think. Downey as Stark shined once again, along with Paltrow's strong performance. Rourke surprised me since he did villain pretty well, at least facial and body language. I love superhero movies, even if I don't read the comics, and I really think this was a strong continuation. Definitely one I'll be buying when it comes out. Worth the 12:01 late night viewing with a solid story that didn't force your suspension of disbelief to break.