I Liked It: Iron Man 2

Michael Bay, I hope you're taking notes: this is how you make a bigger and better sequel. The second Iron Man, was, in a word, AWESOME.  The entire cast was great, from Robert Downey Jr.'s as the troubled genius Tony Stark to Don Cheadle as the erstwhile best friend to Gwyneth Paltrow as his faithful assistant to Scarlett Johansson as the hottest woman ever (I'll probably get in trouble for this...).  There is as much spectacle as ever, and, as is the case with many sequels, the number of characters & huge explosions is increased.  Granted, fitting more in sometimes makes the film feel as if it is jumping from one crazy set-piece to the next, but by the end, you find yourself not caring. The film is well-written, and I found myself questioning plot holes to have them covered in the next scene. The snappy, smart, and often hilarious dialogue kept me entertained during conversational scenes, and there was always plenty of eye candy of both the computer generated and Scarlett Johansson variety (Sorry...)  Honestly, I would sit for an additional two hours watching those awesome Iron Man suits in action. All in all, this slick, smart, fast-paced thrill ride is just a whole lot of fun.