Iron Man 3 Review

The long awaited Iron Man 3 has finally arrived, riding the coat tales of the Avengers it looks to get this next generation of Marvel movies out the gate with a bang. Iron Man 3 takes place not long after the events of the Avengers, and one thing that is apparent quickly is that Tony Stark is not the same man. He's suffering from anxiety attacks, he's not getting along with his girl friend, and he can't even sleep. On top of that some terrorist known only as the Mandarin is causing havoc all over the world. He seems to have some sort of new bomb that can cause massive damage without leaving a trace of what it is. After one of Tony's friends is seriously injured in one of these attacks, Tony refuses to take it lying down and openly challenges the Mandarin. So Iron Man sets out to not only stop one of the deadliest terrorists the US government has ever, but keep what is left in his life together in the process. Iron Man 3 changes upon the formula somewhat from the previous two; it is a little darker and they put even more humor in it, which is actually my first problem with it. While many of the lines are funny they are given at odd times. Like Stark will be in the middle of a fight, inches away from death, and he'll crack a one liner. Probably the coolest aspect of the movie are the fight scenes, they're pretty badass. And with the addition of the best visual effect the series has seen makes them a feast for the eyes. While aspects like these are very enjoyable, the movie has some faults. Other than Robert Downey Jr. no one gives an overly good performance. One thing that really seems to have divided people is the direction they took the Mandarin in; people ether hated it or just went along, I hated it. I won't spoil anything but in my opinion it's pretty dumb. For a while I really liked Iron Man 3, but around the hour mark things started to take a turn for the worse. The movie just falls apart during the second half and by the end it's just unsalvageable. There are a couple plot points that are just really stupid and defy the laws of physics (even for a superhero movie). I know it sounds like I hated it but I actually enjoyed Iron Man 3 for what it was, a summer popcorn flick. But I am disappointed, coming off the Avengers I was hoping for more. If you ask me, Iron Man 3 is better than Iron Man 2 but still inferior compared to the original.

3/5 Stars