Anymore? I haven't cared about prudish critics and their opinions, well ever. We so rarely agree. I know what I like and watch enough reviews to make a decison for myself, some(maybe not you) though are lazy and just let others tell them UP or DOWN.
I think that's very narrow-minded thinking. I really enjoy reading what critics have to say about films, especially some critics that I respect (i.e. Roger Ebert, Michael Phillips, A.O. Scott) but even if they disapprove of a film, it doesn't necessarily influence my opinion so much as to educate my opinion.
For example, Ebert, Phillips and Scott all vehemently hated
Kick-Ass but I had so much anticipation over the film that even the combined forces of their dissenting opinions weren't going to deter my excitement or sway me not to see it. I've seen
Kick-Ass three times now, and it's probably my favorite movie of the year so far, regardless of what they think. Just because I disagree with them from time-to-time, doesn't mean I have to completely disregard what they say. I'm open to all forms of criticism, negative or positive, and I listen to them regardless whether I agree with them or not. It's just nice sometimes to have a variety of options, and a slew of different opinions/points-of-view.
I agree I doubt it'll go as dark and serious as what you mention but not doing so isn't a defacto bad thing. As far as building onto anything it's apparent they are building up the MCU(Marvel Comics Universe, Kevin Friege used that somewhere) on screen.
We will all know in a few short days though.
I'm not just talking about dark and serious. I'm talking about adding to the world they established in the first film. For example,
The Empire Strikes Back built on the mythology of the first film, by expounding the relationships and transforming them, as well as taking a different thematic approach (the first film was admittedly lighter, and
ESB was considerably darker in tone) but what I loved about
ESB is that by the film's end, technically speaking the heroes had lost, the villains had won, and there was much more left in that universe to explore (what would happen to Han Solo? How will Luke Skywalker adjust to finding out he's the son of Darth Vader? How will that thematically change the course of the series?).
ESB essentially opened the doors to new exciting potential that just wasn't there before.
I have a feeling that
Iron Man 2 will just regurgitate what made the first film so successful: Tony Stark will continue being a wiseass, cracking jokes, Rhodey will continue being Tony's best friend with a skeptical eye, Pepper Potts will have the same awkward, unresolved chemistry/relationship with Tony, and so on and so forth. By the end of the film, there will be no apparent risks taken, no character evolution or changes, and nothing to really propel the story into new, exciting ground. I could be completely wrong, though. I'm just going by the half a dozen reviews I've read so far which seem to indicate this.
I hope I'm wrong, at the very least. Some of the best sequels of all time have allowed the central story to be taken to new exciting levels so things didn't remain stagnate, and it allowed for the audience to wonder what just might happen to these beloved characters. We'll certainly see.