After viewing Iron Man 2, I was impressed. Typically sequels do not live up to the originals, however this seemed to be the exception to that rule. The storyline really did a great job at showing the narcissism and heroics that Tony Stark as Iron Man faces. Being the only person taking on all the world’s issues can be daunting, then dealing with the government’s requests for the Iron Man Mark 2 suit, and add some pressing health issues into the mix and you have a recipe for implosion on a mental level!

This movie is great for adults or older children, I would definitely stick to the PG-13 guidelines, as a younger child might understand the decline of Tony Stark’s character and the drinking and morality binge that he goes on. With an older child, these issues can be used as a teachable moment to explain what can happen when a person does not have a higher power or someone to look to other than themselves. A younger child, however may not understand this. The language was not particularly bad, in the grand scheme of things and the fighting was not graphic. Overall, if you are a parent with children younger than 13, I would suggest previewing it first and then deciding. As for older children, they may not totally be able to wrap their head around the concept of Tony’s moral decline, but at least they would have a better understanding that this type of behavior is destructive and dangerous.

Overall, this movie was great and lived up to to the Iron Man comic book character. I feel that this movie did a much better job of showing the duality of Tony’s nature as himself and Iron Man both. The effects were awesome and the storyline was really good and true to the Tony Stark character. I feel that this is a must see!

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Child-friendly rating: 2.5 out of 5 (it’s a preview first movie)