Iron Man 3 was another installment in an already over saturated superhero genre. Though I’m not much for comics and flying leotards, the Robert Downey Jr. version of Tony Stark has branded the franchise with an iconic, brilliant, and charismatic actor. I’d heard mostly good things about the film so I decided to brave the crowds and sample another episode on opening weekend.
I found Iron Man 3 to be a good, but not excellent film with constant action with some glaring problems. The plot was thin, the action was good and intense, but constant and overplayed. The quips, supplied by the aforementioned Downey, are nothing short of perfect. So good, in fact, one wonders if there could be a spin-off film simply following the not-Ironman Tony Stark around while he deals with life in his unique, quip-a-minute, laid-back paradigm. I understand Robert Downey Jr. does some significant extemporaneous chatter during the Iron Man films and his ability shows through as one of the high points of the experience.
The negatives start on the plot as the film lost me on the back third. The action swells into an unbelievable crescendo with “Operation House Party” and “Operation Clean Slate” moving the experience from marginally interesting to a CGI festival of hype without substance. Another negative has Tony Stark suffering from anxiety attacks. What the…? And don’t get me started on Pepper Potts late contribution to the film ending — completely out of rhythm for the character and a horrendous plot choice.
When it was all said and done, Iron Man 3 won’t disappoint if you want two-hours of action and CGI, with super human bad guys, and can ignore the all-but transparent plot but I won’t be seeing it again. For me, I think the film wasn’t as good at Iron Man 1, but better than Iron Man 2 and would rate it a solid 7 of 10. The Avengers was a much more enjoyable, cohesive, and perfectly executed film — go Joss Whedon! Enjoy.