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This is an early thread, but reviews are coming in and they don't sound too positive.

http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/2010/04/27/review-iron-man-2

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Overall, I don’t think Iron Man 2 is anywhere near as good as the first film, It’s let down by the amount it’s trying to squeeze in to the movie with the Avengers story and all the new additional characters but overall it’s certainly going to please some but will equally bemuse others.

http://slashingtheseats.net/2010/04/27/iron-man-2/

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To sum up; Marvel had greater creative control, the cast are all strong actors, and Favreau has always produced decent work in the past, so what went wrong remains a mystery, but it’s one that needs to be solved quickly if we’re to hold out hope for Joss Wheedon’s Avengers, or even Iron Man 3. This is all flash and bang, with none of the neat fanboy winks that fleshed out the original.

Strongly in need of a reboot, Iron Man 2 is as confused and disillusioned as it’s protagonist. With some judicious re-editing and an extended running time there’s hope, but the suit needs some serious retooling if we’re expected to shell out to see old shell head a third time.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/...5875-22214759/

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I don’t know what went on behind the scenes while the film was being made but rumours of reshoots and recuts have been swirling around the internet. Was this the film director Jon Favreau wanted to make? I doubt it. After Elf, the underrated Zathura and the first instalment, he’s proved himself a capable pair of hands. Perhaps the blame lies higher up the studio food chain.

Whoever’s at fault, if Favreau still wishes to make the series a trilogy, this is a franchise in serious need of rewiring.

~Edit~
More Reviews
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/44828

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/...asp?FID=135908

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Verdict
Rourke and Rockwell make satisfying, complementary villains, while Downey Jr. delivers again. Shame this sequel feels inessential, over-busy and a little, well, mechanical. Nothing they can’t put right for Iron Man 3.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...04086551.story

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Well, that didn't take long. Everything fun and terrific about "Iron Man," a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, "Iron Man 2" has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines. A film series that started out with critical and commercial success will have to settle for only the latter with this sequel. Robert Downey Jr.'s return as Tony Stark/Iron Man will assure that.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117...goryid=31&cs=1

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"Iron Man 2" isn't as much fun as its predecessor, but by the time the smoke clears, it'll do. Much like "The Dark Knight," this Paramount release brings an enormous stash of goodwill to the party, thanks to a well-crafted origin tale whose popularity fueled anticipation for a follow-up. Yet while the first go-round for this lesser-known Marvel hero benefited from its freshness and visual flair, the beats here are more familiar, the pacing more uneven. Given the demand, though, that will hardly matter, and this armored adventure promises to be a money-making machine that clicks on all cylinders.

Sucks. I guess it's to be expected though - if you look back at the trailers there's definitly a lot of stuff going on. Comic book movies never do well trying to fit what's basically huge crossover stories or arcs into single movies. The best of the bunch keep things straight-forward and almost simple, when it all break things down. Still, I'm sure this'll be very enjoyable

I don't care about Hey U Guys or Slashing the Seats and I REALLY don't give a flying rat's ass what Ain't It Cool thinks about anything. Some of those others are somewhat respectable publications, though. I've never read a Variety review, but they aren't amateurs.

So meh. The movie is review proof. But it could just turn out that allowing comic book writers to write the movie was a bad idea.

Side disclosure: I happen to think that having comic book writers write anything other than comic books is almost always a bad idea. See also Heroes, Smallville, The Spirit.

I could have seen it yesterday, but we decided on Clash of the Titans instead.

They showed the trailer for IM2, it looked entertaining...

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Originally Posted by Xantae

Side disclosure: I happen to think that having comic book writers write anything other than comic books is almost always a bad idea. See also Heroes, Smallville, The Spirit.

The main comic book fellow on Heroes also writes crappy comic books...and was fired from Heroes before the last season. Believe the only couple decent Smallville eps were when they brought in a comic writer (Geoff Johns who got his start working on Superman 2) to write them.

And then there's Lost.

And Batman the Animated series. And JLU. And Tiny Toon Adventures. And Ben 10.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/iron_man_2/

Right now it has a 76% rating at RT, with some very good reviews in the mix. I'm not sure why everyone seems to be concentrating on the negative reviews.

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Originally Posted by Professor S (Post 267984)

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/iron_man_2/

Right now it has a 76% rating at RT, with some very good reviews in the mix. I'm not sure why everyone seems to be concentrating on the negative reviews.

Rotten Tomatoes is a weird site to use.

Since they only believe something is good or bad, and not so much the variance in those two.

It has a RT score of 76%, but the average review places it at about 65%, which is about average/crust of failing in school.

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Originally Posted by Teuthida (Post 267965)

I'll concede the DCAU, but Lost? You really want to hold that up as an example of good writing? The plot on that show is a FUBARed mess. I don't think they're even pretending to have a plan any more.

According to Wikipedia, Tiny Toon Adventures was written head written by Tom Ruegger with assists from Jean MacCurdy, Jim Reardon and Tom Minton (among others). All of them are TV writers first, and most of them have never written a comic book.

Never heard of Ben 10, but after looking at its info, I'll give you that one as well. And then I'll raise you David S. Goyer. I feel that The Dark Knight was a much better movie than Batman Begins in large part because they kicked him off writing duties. And when he attempted to direct the third Blade movie all by himself, the results were not pretty.

And I did say "almost always a bad idea." There are some full-time comic book writers who know how to exercise a little restraint, but they seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

On another note: Rottentomatoes only has 20 reviews so far. The vast majority of reviewers haven't seen the movie (or their reviews are embargoed). Rottentomatoes scores more than a week before the release date are generally not reliable.

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Originally Posted by BreakABone (Post 267985)

Well then does that mean that a movie that is three out of four stars is a "D" or a "C"? Normally I think a 3 star movie has received a very good score. This is exactly why I think RT does a good job in evaluating movie metadata. They understand how the scoring system works in movies and they score "fresh" accordingly, IMO.

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According to Wikipedia, Tiny Toon Adventures was written head written by Tom Ruegger with assists from Jean MacCurdy, Jim Reardon and Tom Minton (among others). All of them are TV writers first, and most of them have never written a comic book.

Never heard of Ben 10, but after looking at its info, I'll give you that one as well. And then I'll raise you David S. Goyer. I feel that The Dark Knight was a much better movie than Batman Begins in large part because they kicked him off writing duties. And when he attempted to direct the third Blade movie all by himself, the results were not pretty.

On Tiny Toons, most of the DC toons and other toons such as Freakazoid, and on Lost you have Paul Dini. (Turns out comics actually came later for him). Him along with Brian K. Vaughan worked on just a couple (though those were pretty good ones if I recall) episodes of Lost. Lost as a series doesn't hold up I admit, but there were some good ones. It was a sad day when I realized they didn't have a plan.

Heh, so really there aren't too many comic book writers who make the transition from comics to something else. A lot more tv and book writers get into comics later like Joss Whedon, Stephen King, Joe Hill, Paul Dini, Greg Rucka, etc. and then jump back and forth between the mediums.

Funny, seems like Ben 10 is the only real success story for comic writers transitioning to tv. Those guys and Dwayne McDuffie who did Static Shock, Justice League, and now the head guy in charge of Ben 10.

But um yeah....how about that Iron Man.

It's not out for a week? :confused: How come the local cinema here already shows it?
http://www.cinesneek.nl/film.php?film=1000000155

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Originally Posted by Angrist (Post 268000)

It's not out for a week? :confused: How come the local cinema here already shows it?
http://www.cinesneek.nl/film.php?film=1000000155

I'm pretty sure Europe gets it a week early for some reason

Yeah, its out in some places, for example, it came out on april 29th over here, i was going to watch it today but didnt go, will probably go on sunday.

Yaay, we finally get something before America. :) But even I think that's weird...

I saw this. It was good. The reviews are kind of true, but I think they're being a little harsh. There are a few scenes that sort of feel unnecessary or poorly done, but most of the movie is pretty good.

And the parts that aren't that great aren't really bad, they just sort of feel like more could be done with them. Sam Rockwell's character is sort of wasted. I like Sam Rockwell and he did well with what he had. I just think he was extraneous. A few other things, but again, not deal breakers. Its just not quite as amazing as the first one.