When you have a origin film that sets the characters - and it becomes a blockbuster, the natural thing to do is to compare the second movie with the first. So many critics have done that. This movie sets up the next stage of Iron Man's evolution. Tony Stark becomes a real hero in this movie. He has illness to overcome, he feels his mortality and tries to protect his legacy. I loved the fight sequences and special effects in this movie. My only complaint is when russian is spoken, there isn't subtitles all the way through so you get lost and the story seems to run on auto pilot for periods of time. Go see it!!!