I’ve been trying to think of a way that I can return some link love for all those critics/blogs that I love to read.  Since I love reading reviews of films that I’ve seen what I’ll do is each week whatever new release that I review here I will post what I think the General Consensus of the movie is by posting short snippets of many reviews here.  Check it out below:

So here’s how this is going to work.  Since I want to create an average score for the film (like my own blogosphere only version of RT or IMDB) I will only count reviews that have a rating.  If your rating is letter graded then I will convert it using High School style grades (i.e. A = 9/10, B = 8/10, C = 7/10, D = 5/10, F = 3/10).  I’ll definitely mention other, non-scaled reviews, but they won’t be calculated into the overall General Consensus.

Directed by: Jon Favreau

Written by: Justin Theroux & Stan Lee

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell & Mickey Rourke

Release Date: May 7th (US), May 5th (JA)

Reviews:

Not Rated Reviews

“I have no problem recommending Iron Man 2 to anyone looking for a (mostly) mindless comic book sequel that comes from a team of filmmakers intent on keeping the fans happy — while trying to avoid doling out the exact same popcorn flick fodder.” – Scott Weinberg from Cinematical

“Ultimately, Iron Man 2 can really only be faulted for being okay, rather than really great. No expense or effort was spared in recreating the look, sound, and feel of the first film, and as expected, expanding it to proportions befitting a no-brainer sequel.” – Todd Gilchrist from Cinematical

Rated Reviews

“The biggest and most obvious problem with Iron Man 2 is that it has serious pacing issues. I’m normally not the kind of guy to count action scenes, but there are literally three of them, the first coming a good half-hour into the film.” – Sean Dwyer from FilmJunk Grade: 3.75/10

“In a word: personality. Robert Downey, Jr. can play Tony Stark in his sleep, but he’s certainly not sleepwalking through this one. He lends any dialogue sequence, especially ones with a combative edge, a snappy sensibility that is all too rare in any film of late, much less in summer tentpoles.” – Russ Fischer from /Film.  Grade: 7/10

“If you saw the first movie and thought to yourself that mechs vs. mechs was a good idea for an action film then this movie is for you.” – Me from here. Grade: 8.5/10

“Put it all together and what do you have? A competent, expensive sequel that’s a little off track, but never gets boring, is never wanting for stuff to look at, and has more than enough action to please tens of millions of people.” – from GetTheBigPicture.  Grade: 6/10

“Other story-lines like Stark slowly being poisoned by the arc reactor that is keeping him alive seem unnecessary and thrown in just to give a sense of danger when the villains aren’t at the front and center.” – Kirk from WAMG. Grade: 7/10

“In short, this is a film for fans made by a fan himself. And you feel it in just about every second of screen time.” – James Wallace from Gordon and the Whale.  Grade: 8/10

“Things are happening and you’ll love the witty narcissism of Tony Stark and the added bonus of having Sam Rockwell as part of the cast.” – Brad Brevet from Rope of Silicon. Grade: B(8/10)

“In short, it’s too much, suffering slightly from Spider-Man 3 syndrome i.e. overstuffed plot points resulting in a somewhat shallow experience. When it doesn’t rush we’re rewarded with a meandering second act. When it first kicks off you only feel excitement.” – Jack Giroux from The Film Stage. Grade: 7/10

“In the hands of a less-talented actor, Tony’s arrogance and self-indulgence could easily have the come off as obnoxiousness.  With Downey, arrogance becomes bravado and self-indulgence becomes eccentric.” – Matt Goldberg from Collider. Grade: B+(8.5/10)

“Although the expanding world of Iron Man’s universe still manages to captivate and entertain, the trouble in paradise arrives when worlds collide, with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow entering the fray.” – Connor O’Donnel from The Film Stage. Grade: 7.5/10

“What is most irritating about Iron Man 2, without going into the condescending ‘we’d-better-explain-all-this-complicated-technology-stuff’ ethos present throughout, is that somehow in the last five minutes everyone involved suddenly manages to find that verve, that charm, of the original. The reaction you are then left with, rather than a shrug of the shoulders, is sheer frustration that the rest of it couldn’t be more like those five minutes.” – Paul Chambers from The Film Stage. Grade: 3/10

“Act two is also saved by charisma. Robert Downey Jr. has charisma oozing from every second of screen time, making even the most full banter engaging. Sam Rockwell is also on top of his game as Justin Hammer, a character that is as eccentric as Stark, and twice as twisted.” – Neil Miller from Film School Rejects. Grade: B(8/10)

“There are also some plot points that require a bit of forgiveness on the part of the audience due to how far you have to stretch to accept them, but I have a feeling that some things were left out to keep the film moving forward at a good pace and will be revealed once the Blu-ray is released.” – Vic Holtreman from ScreenRant. Grade: 8/10

“Mickey Rourke is a rather believable villain, Scarlett Johansson is good, and Cheadle is an interesting replacement for Terrence Howard. Although it does lag a little, it’s still a freakin’ awesome movie.” – MovieNut14. Grade: 8/10

Avg. Score: 7/10