A couple of years ago, the first Iron Man took the country by storm, making lots of money and surprising many people — myself included — with just how awesome it was. I’ve never been into Marvel as much as DC, and knew very little about Iron Man going in, but Marvel has made some fine superhero movies, so I went in with reasonable expectations…all of which were blown away.

Cut to two years later, and the inevitable sequel has hit theaters. Is it as much of a slam dunk as the first one, as most superhero sequels are (not the third movies, those usually suck)? Read on…

From the beginning, you can tell this is going to be a bigger movie than the original, just by looking at the Stark Expo in which Tony Stark/Iron Man flies into, landing upon the main stage whereupon his suit is removed to reveal a smart tuxedo underneath. I saw the movie with a group, and special mention was made of Robert Downey Jr’s exceptional suits throughout the movie, and we get a first glimpse of that here. The Stark Expo is a huge World’s Fair type of affair that plays a very prominent role in the movie — not the least of which is getting blowed up real good — but also helps Tony form a connection with his father, which happens later in the movie.

The principal actors from the first movie, such as Robert Downey Jr. and Gyneth Paltrow, are excellent in their roles as Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, respectfully. You can tell both actors have fantastic chemistry with each other, as they trade verbal punches quickly and easily. The dialogue between the two characters is some of the best in the film, and you can tell that the actors were having a great time in their roles. Downey, once again, is perfectly cast as the misfit Tony Stark, and brings all his genius and personality flaws front and center. Paltrow plays Stark’s conscious, Potts, beautifully once again.

Replacing Terrence Howard as Tony Stark’s best friend James “Rhodey” Rhodes is Don Cheadle. Now I liked Howard a lot in the first movie, as I thought he and Downey had a great chemistry. However, I think Cheadle has him beat, as he fit right in with the cast and into his role. He played the torn best friend of the alcoholic Stark quite well, joking with him in one scene and beating the crap out of him with a stolen Iron Man suit the next. When we see Cheadle take up the role of War Machine, he does so with aplomb, making the character even more believable, in my opinion.

New to the cast this time around are the legendary Mickey Rourke, the versatile Sam Rockwell, and the delightful (ahem) Scarlett Johansson. Mickey Rourke plays Ivan Vanko, the son of a Russian scientist who helped Howard Stark — Tony’s dad — come up with the legendary Arc reactor. Sadly, Stark had Ivan’s dad deported back to Russia in the late 60′s, leading to a whole lotta hate from the Vanko family toward the Stark family. After his father’s death, Ivan vows revenge and builds his own little Arc reactor, using it to make a whip-based exoframe that allows him to slice through nearly anything…except Iron Man’s armor of course.

This all comes to a head during a race in which Tony decides to replace his own driver and drive his company’s Formula One car. The car is destroyed, but thanks to the efforts of Tony’s driver Happy Hogan (played by director Jon Favreau) and Potts, they get him a fold-up Iron Man suit which he uses to take down Ivan…or so he thinks. This scene was played very, very well by everyone involved, and I was totally on the edge of my seat. Rourke does a good job as Ivan Vanko, but I kind of feel he was under used, sadly.

Filling in that void left by Rourke, thankfully, is Sam Rockwell as Stark competitor Justin Hammer. Rockwell plays both the sinister and the humorous very, very well here, and I totally loved his character. Between his smug arrogance, his flat-out hatred and contempt for Stark Industries and his dry wit, I found nearly every scene with Rockwell to be enjoyable, especially when his own gadgets didn’t work.

Adding another face to the good guys team is Scarlett Johansson, playing Stark legal aide Natalie Rushman / S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff. Sadly Scarlett Johansson did little more than look pretty and kick a lot of ass…while posing and looking pretty. As a guy, I didn’t mind this too much, but it seemed somewhat wasteful, as I thought they could’ve done more with her.

Minor characters included Samuel L. Jackson fantastically reprising his role as Nick Fury, and thankfully we get to see a little more of him this time around. Also, Garry Shandling did an excellent turn as Senator Stern, a PA (dammit) Senator focused on taking the Iron Man technology for governmental use. Shandling did a great job, but I couldn’t help wonder…what the HELL happened to him? He looks like a bloated watermelon, poor guy. Clark Gregg returned as the enjoyably sarcastic Agent Coulson, who I always like to see, and the unseen Paul Bettany did an excellent job, once again, as Stark’s computer, Jarvis.

As for the story, it was your fairly typical revengey storyline, nothing horribly new or exciting…but that’s not what makes the movie great. What makes the movie great are both the comedy and the action, which Iron Man 2 has in spades. Jon Favreau got his start as a comedic actor and director with Swingers, and it shows here, in a good way. Iron Man 2, like the first movie, never takes itself too seriously, and the movie is a lot more enjoyable for it. The jokes fly fast, the sarcasm is so deep you can wade through it, and the humor is nearly ever-present.

The action, when it happens, is well done, exciting and filled with adrenaline. Watching Iron Man and War Machine take on dozens of Hammer drones designed by Ivan was a real edge-of-your-seat treat, and I really enjoyed the wanton destruction brought upon the Stark Expo in the last act by their big battle. The other action bits, like the race, the fight between Stark and Rhodey in their Iron Man suits, and so on was also well done.

Overall, as a fun summer popcorn movie, Iron Man 2 succeeds brilliantly. It’s not as pleasant a surprise as the original, which might lead to different expectations — a lot of reviews I’ve seen have been negative on the movie for just that reason, it seems — but as a movie on its own, and a sequel to the first movie, it’s a great movie. If you can, see it in IMAX, because it looks fantastic. Thankfully Iron Man 2 also follows the trend of the superhero sequels being slightly better than the originals. Here’s to hoping Iron Man 3 doesn’t suck, like Spiderman 3, Superman 3, X-Men 3, Batman Forever…

PS. Don’t forget to stay to the end of the credits, as there’s an AWESOME little bit at the end, even better than the one in the first movie.