Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Don Cheadle, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlet Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Gary Shandling, John Slattery
Rating: PG-13

Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle star in Iron Man 2. (Courtesy photo)

Even the best of recent superhero franchises—Batman, X-Men, Spiderman—needed a one-movie head start in order to peak in the sequel. The one exception was Iron Man. The 2008 super-duper hit was a refreshingly confident and complete first installment. That leaves Iron Man 2 with the less-than-ideal job of not being too inferior to its predecessor. The results are in, and Iron Man 2 has achieved its goal. Oh, it’s definitely inferior. But it’s also pretty fun from start to finish. Like so many of its blockbuster kind, this one tries to pack in too many characters and subplots, and everyone suffers. But credit screenwriter Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunder) with fitting some thoughtful connective tissue between the noise and chaos. Overall, Theroux and director Jon Favreau keep their ambitions in check and opt for more of the same. Much more.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is Iron Man. Everyone knows it and he likes it that way. And why not? Thanks to him the world is currently in its longest stretch of peace in centuries. But he’s also dying; it turns out that powering your body with a palladium battery has negative long-term effects. He must find an alternative—and as yet nonexistent—source of power to stay alive. But he’s too busy self-destructing. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is mad at him for taking bad care of himself and Stark Enterprises. A smarmy U.S. senator (Gary Shandling) is demanding he turn the Iron Man suit over to the government. Best friend Lt. Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle, replacing Terrence Howard) can’t protect him from his bosses much longer. New secretary Natalie Rushman (Scarlet Johansson) is getting much too close. Arms manufacturer Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) wants to get his hands on Stark’s suit as well. And to top it off, Russian techno-wiz and tattoo fan Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) wants revenge on Stark for the way Tony’s dad Howard (John Slattery) treated his dad 40 years earlier. As you can see, Iron Man has a lot on his mind.

After transforming from a cocky weapons manufacturer into a slightly less cocky superhero, Stark might have continued down the road to Superman-style blandness. But never in the hands of Favreau, Theroux, and Robert Downey Jr. Stark remains incurably arrogant, and therefore refreshingly different from every other movie superhero. But where the first movie sent the viewer off exhilarated, this one leaves us merely a little tired. It’s not that there’s too much action. Like the first one, when you add it up there’s surprisingly little mayhem. Iron Man 2 is more a collection of concept scenes than a smoothly clicking narrative. Ideas that probably seemed great on the page, like Rhodey and a drunk Tony wrestling each other in Iron Man suits, don’t quite work on screen. What does work is the goofy but appealing riddle left behind by Howard Stark. And Downey Jr. of course. And Mickey Rourke.

When Rourke was announced as the villain in Iron Man 2, I was concerned he wouldn’t be able to match the heightened comic book nature of the film. And he doesn’t, but he contrasts it very effectively. Vanko is a smart, scary villain, and Rourke gives him mounds of presence. If only he got a stronger finale. Rockwell and Johansson are both better than I expected, Rockwell especially overcoming the generic nature of his character. But it all rests on Downey Jr.’s shoulders, and he carries it effortlessly.

Iron Man 2 could be one of the best inferior sequels ever, but movies don’t get much credit for that. The producers will have to find consolation in the massive box office. The standard practice for these franchises is to make at least three, but I think they might be better off saving Iron Man for the planned Avengers movie in 2011, then hanging up the suit. Best to quit while you’re still ahead.

Alex Manugian lives in Sherman Oaks, Calif. He grew up in Groton and has reviewed movies for Harvard readers for many years.