If you're not careful, Iron Man will blind you, if not with his hand ray then with his wit. Industrialist/engineering genius Tony Stark will net you into his aura with the slickest tongue on the planet, which he pretty much holds in his hands. Unfortunately, the best of him remains back in the desert where he was captured and met the uncanny challenge to cleverly deceive and ingeniuously to create a means of escape from his evil captors and, at the same time, take us a step into the future. But, later, which is now, he's back to being the big man in the board meetings and, attired in the stylish garb of a Grammy winner, recounts his technological conquests as part of a corporate PR tour.

Meanwhile, a new source of excitement is being born in a Russian workshop. Meet super-physicist Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke, with gravelly voiced accent). Two things. He's a madman seething over the fact that Stark got all the credit for the inventions that should, at least, have been shared with his father, now dead. And, two, vengeance is on the man's mind and he's as sharp with the advanced weaponry as his old man. You've heard of a Taser gun? Multiply it by a thousand.

Showing up in the middle of a car racetrack in which Stark, playing Paul Newman, is one of the drivers--is a dude who escaped from a WWF wrestling competition. He's in the full regalia of a juiced-up tentacle suit, and he's not just putting on an act. He's a demon bent on destroying he who robbed his family of the glory it deserved: Stark. Our hero, shocked just by the appearance of this dangerous clown, suffers some debilitating heart starters before he can manage donning his own suit--which doesn't immediately turn the tide of battle.

Finally subdued with help from Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle (who replaces Terrence Howard from "Iron Man"), Vanko is vanquished, shackled, imprisoned and freed by Stark Industries rival Justin Hammer (richly attired Sam Rockwell) who is Jonesing about using Vanko's proven knowledge of advanced physics and lack of any moral impediments, to help him steal a new Defense contract away from Stark).

As all these action-producing elements stir up a pot of conflict sufficient to showcase Stark's use of charm in the face of problems he can't deal with, he, himself, alone in his lab, is watching an apparently unstoppable increase in his blood-toxicity level from the power source for his miniature arc reactor that powers his chest electromagnet. If he can't find a substitute among the rare earth metals to drive his generator he will die. So, what does he do? In his first interview with Vanko he shows off his electronic superiority by telling his attacker how he could have made the electric whips even more damaging. What a schmuck.

Facing death and becoming more and more depressed, Stark plans. He appoints his ever-faithful, modest and adoring sidekick Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) CEO of the corporation. She is to run the company, ensuring its continuation after he's gone. The only problem for her is the impossibility of keeping Stark under any kind of control when he's set on what appears to her to be self-destruction.

There are subplots and many more characters in the mix. As Senator Stern, Gary Shandling plays such a slick political snake who chairs the Defense Committee that he brings a stir of humor to the audience and to the proceedings virtually on sight. But, if you're talking about raising a stir, get a load of an altogether new Scarlett Johansson who, in the dual role of undercover spy Natalie Rushman/Natasha Romanoff dons a tight black catwoman personna (based on the comic's Black Widow) with moves that will fill many a male teen's nighttime dreamscape. Actually, the effect isn't limited to teens. She's burning hot and turns out to be distracting in all the right places.

Rhodes shows smooth grit as he dons one of the Iron Man suits in the backup inventory and aids Stark immensely when he becomes "War Machine." More than suitable. And, a very big plus for Cheadle's widening range of roles.

Kate Mara shows her lovely self as a U.S. Marshall and director Jon Favreau pulls off an extended and well realized cameo in Stark's coterie of loyalists as Happy Hogan. Add to this the intrigue of where Natalie/Natasha's real loyalty lies, which is to the agency of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its eye-patched leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) who wants Stark as a consultant. Truly a star-studded escapade.

The busy but effective musical score was composed by John Debney and Tom Morello.

Own it today! (Click on item link) The DVD Three-Disc Bluray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy The Soundtrack

But, however they load the deck, there's no repeating what they had in the original. The difference seems to lie in how this individualist character connects with our love of a hero we can be comfortable with--who is quirky and vulnerable--and seems to be creating something new rather than merely defending it. It's a balance that Downey tests repeatedly in his man with fears and neuroses and, also, a limitless future. He was a human hero. But the dude in "Iron Man 2," although still sympathetic, has gone superhero and the synthetic construction doesn't offer the same fullness of character and high imagination it once did. Still...

Favreau and his screenwriter Justin Theroux ("Tropic Thunder") gives us much in the way of action concepts for the action/comic book fan to enjoy and I wouldn't have missed it for an iron suit of my own. It can be taken for what it is, rather than lament what it isn't. In any case, it just proves that these sequel thangies are hard to pull off as a full match to the original.

                                      ~~  Jules Brenner