The one glaring drawback to Iron Man 2 is the unshakable feeling that this movie should have been the third installment in the saga rather than the second. 

Fearful to hear calls that they are prolonging the franchise with filler and equally eager to get some branch-off franchises launched, Iron Man 2 thrusts new characters into the spotlight (Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson), while trusting that the audience is happy and comfortable with their hero. 

Tony Stark's ego is running roughshod and it does get hard to watch. At times, one is unsure that the series has built up enough rapport with the audience and established enough sympathy for Tony "Iron Man" Stark, played by the always brilliant Robert Downey Jr., to just take audience investment on faith. 

Mickey Rourke's father died and he's incurably distraught. As blatant and overly straightforward as that line is in print, that is how blatant and forced the opening scene of Iron Man 2 feels. 

It seems as though Director Jon Favreau and his storyline editors and consultants were at their wits end as to how to smoothly convey this tidbit to the audience. Their approach? They just went ahead and established it as awkwardly as possible--avidly, cutting and pasting it in as the opening scene the same way they cut and pasted in Rourke as a haunted Russian hungry for revenge. 

It's hard to decide if Rourke was brilliant or not as Ivan Vanko, but to his credit, it is equally hard to imagine anyone else in Hollywood today playing the role. 

Those two facts aside, Iron Man 2 hits the ground running after its bumpy takeoff and never looks back. 

Downey is the best leading man in Hollywood today and it shows in each and every Tony Stark scene. He effortlessly bounces back and forth between ego maniac, comedian, super hero and sympathetic figure, which is no small feat. 

The amazing thing to observe is that Tony Stark scenes are equally as riveting as Iron Man scenes solely because of Downey. He takes great lines, cheesy lines and stagnant lines alike and delivers them with the ease and confidence that only age and experience can give an actor. 

It is only Downey's portrayal as Stark that makes the comedy not feel forced, thanks to his vast acting skills (as opposed to Sam Rockwell, who is obviously there to be equal parts funny and creepy and everything else that we love and expect from Sam Rockwell). Every minute that either Iron Man or Stark is on the screen, the audience cannot look away. 

The same can also be said for Scarlett Johansson, in her role as legal assistant extraordinaire Natalie Rushman. Arguably the most beautiful woman in the world today, Johansson's stunning looks were toned down, seemingly so her acting and ass kicking would be more believable: Mission Accomplished. 

Though much of her intoxicating effect on the audience is due to her beauty, she is understatedly riveting and Favreau really only exploits her beauty once, not so ironically in the scene that he shares with her. (Yes, the man inserted himself into the series and threw himself into a Scarlett Johansson scene; wouldn't you?) 

Don Cheadle is sufficiently believable as an equal parts jealous and concerned best friend, despite never having been on the same screen as Downey's Stark. Cheadle's replacement of Terrence Howard as Lieutenant Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a bit awkward, but the audience gets over it quickly. He is, after all, Don Cheadle. The air of "Who is this guy again?" takes a backseat to his multifaceted skill as an actor.  

Finally, Garry Shandling and his facelift do not ruin the movie while taking a shot at American politicians everywhere, and it becomes clear why Shandling was chosen to portray Senator Stern when he delivers the last line of the film.

Or was it the second to last line...By Thor's hammer I just can't remember.