Iron Man 2, the sequel to the 2008 smash hit, hit theatres last Friday. The film makes a satisfying sequel but still leaves much to be desired.

The movie starts with Tony (played quite well by Robert Downey Jr.) after he’s revealed that he is Iron Man, being watched on Russian TV by Ivan Vanko (played by Mickey Rourke), the son of a disgraced scientist who worked with Tony’s father to create the technology that  runs the Iron Man suit and keeps Tony alive. Ivan’s father dies, which inspires him to create a suit that will allow him to take revenge on the Stark family.

Tony uses the suit as an excuse to do whatever he wants; however, the suit is slowly killing him because the metal that runs his ARC reactor is poisonous to his system. He must find a suitable replacement while dealing with the threat of Vanko and his rival Justin Hammer.

Iron Man 2 is a thrill ride filled with superhero lore, special effects, and humor. A few things could be tweaked or completely removed, but for the most part the movie is worth the money. They could have expanded a bit more on certain plot points and spent less time on others, but the movie does well in painting a portrait of a man causing his own downfall before finding salvation once more.