“Iron Man 2” opened May 14, crushing the box office with an estimated $133.6 million during the opening weekend. While midnight showings only took in $7.5 million (lower then expected), Friday showings were sold out. The super hero sequel kicks off the summer blockbuster season a bit later then last year (which was started by another Marvel film; “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”), but makes up for the lost time with a thrilling, funny, entertaining sequel which rivals the first installment.

                The film picks up more or less where the first one left off. Anthony Stark has created a mechanic suit that allows him to fly, shoot lasers, fight bad guys, and overall just save the world. He has been poisoned however, by the highly radioactive chemical that the suit is powered by, and only has a short time left to live, as no cure exists to the poisoning. On top of that, the government is also requesting that he turn the Iron Man suit over to the military so they can mass produce it for the armed forces. Enter stage right: Whiplash (played by Mickey Rourke), the first Iron Man super villain to hit the big screen. He has copied Iron Man’s technology and made his own super suit, which utilizes two giant electric whips to inflict devastating mayhem.

                “Iron Man 2” has most of the prerequisites of a comic book sequel, the love interest, a personal conflict in the hero, and the introduction of another villain. The major difference from other superhero sequels is the extensive comedic depth of the script. The theatre was laughing for about a quarter of the 124 minute movie, due in large part to the performances and chemistry of the actors, creating believably funny moments and memorable one-liners. While the special effects are not revolutionary, they are much of the same as in the first, which is fine because the first one had great effects.

                Most of the cast returns and reprises their roles; Robert Downey Jr. has the lead as Anthony Stark. His faithful secretary is played again by Gwyneth Paltrow, who shares the greatest chemistry with Downey as they bicker back and forth on screen. The only major casting change is Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard, who played James Rhodes in the first movie, Tony Stark’s best friend who always gets him out of trouble. Samuel L. Jackson returns for a few scenes playing Nick Fury, and Scarlett Johansson enters the picture to play a secret agent/ undercover secretary for Stark enterprises (Tony’s company).

                The film does a good job of setting up for a possible third installment, which is semi up in the air at the moment. While the “Avengers” movie coming out in 2012 will include Iron Man, as one of the more prominent members, it is not known who will play him in that movie. It might pick up the franchise and stop producing Iron Man movies and strictly keep with “Avengers” movies, or it could reboot the franchise with a new Iron Man character. The only casting done at the moment is for Captain America, so when the other casting decisions are released, more information will be provided about the possible future of the franchise.