BOTTOM LINE: “Iron Man 2” is a major disappointment; a few cool moments here and there, and a fascinating attempt to portray a flawed hero, do not cover over the fact that this is bloated, noisy, clunky and undisciplined filmmaking. How could the same team that made the original film so good make such a poor follow up?

THE GOOD: Much of the strength of both Iron Man films lies in its casting, and in particular, Robert Downey Jr as the title character. We catch up with his character Tony Stark six months after we left him, and his ego has grown way out of control. He believes he has solved the world’s problems with Iron Man, but the government wants his technology for themselves, and before someone else makes their own version which Stark will not be able to counter. Enter Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), who has a personal beef with Stark and sets about getting his revenge. This sequel works well in some surprising areas, the first being the portrayal of Tony Stark’s self-destructive behaviour, which Robert Downey Jr was a natural fit for. You do not usually see this type of behaviour in a superhero film, which is quite refreshing. Another great point, despite his under-use, is Mickey Rourke as Vanko/Whiplash. He creates a menace that works well for a comic book bad guy, but his award winning abilities lend extra weight to his short time on screen. The remainder of the cast are great, with newcomers Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson in particular doing a decent job, with the former showing she can perform brilliantly in action scenes. Gwyneth Paltrow has perhaps the most useful role in the plot as the woman trying to hold Stark’s personal and professional life together when he appoints her as CEO of his company. Some of the action works well, particularly Vanko’s first appearance as Whiplash at the Monaco Grand Prix. “Iron Man 2” tries to do a lot in its limited running time, and some of it works okay.

THE BAD: It is always astonishing when the same filmmaking team that made a great first film reunites and creates a lousy second film, which is what has happened here. The first Iron Man was great because it had a well executed storyline, was fun, had great action, did not get bogged down by too many subplots, and had great characters. This film by contrast is noisy, bloated and has a plot that is so jumbled, particularly in the second act where it is trying to cram in too many details for the comic book fans, that it cannot be seen as anything other than a mess. Stark’s playful arrogance, that was likeable in the first film, is irritating in this film when it escalates beyond control, with some embarrassing sequences where he is drunk in the Iron Man suit. You do not really care that he is destroying himself. Scarlett Johansson looks fantastic in this film, but her subplot with Samuel L. Jackson is pointless and wastes valuable screen time, aside from setting up another impending sequel that Marvel Studios has planned. Sam Rockwell is mis-cast as dodgy Senator Hammer. He looks like a paper weight next to Mickey Rourke, and those scenes suffer as a result. Mickey Rourke is criminally under-utilised. The first five minutes of the film is devoted to a fantastic and menacing setup for his character, and it promises a lot, and then aside from a great scene where he smashes up Stark’s grand prix car, he basically sits around in a warehouse with nothing to do but be at the mercy of his jailor Senator Hammer. When Whiplash finally appears after a poorly executed and noisy action scene involving drone iron men, he’s stopped in about thirty seconds by Iron Man in a dissatisfying anti-climax. And what was with Jon Favreau’s “extended cameo” as Stark’s bodyguard? It’s up there in the embarrassment stakes with an M. Night Shyamalan effort. “Iron Man 2” has put me off this franchise. I still have fond memories of the first film, and I am happy to keep it at that.