Hollow Like a Fortune Cookie

Rating: 4/10 (10 August 2016)

Iron Man 3 struggles to consistently excite in the way that The Avengers did. There are several impressive scenes, including on Air Force One, but as a whole the plot feel jumbled. Robert Downey, Jr., Don Cheadle, and Gwyneth Paltrow all return, along with Jon Favreau. Ben Kingsley also jumps on the scene as Iron Man's nemesis, the Mandarin.
One problem I have with the plot is it feels too much like Iron Man 2, with a jealous scientist trying to sabotage Iron Man for the control of the arms trade. Similarly, Iron Man's identity crisis and PTSD seems redundant and a bit unconvincing. Another major complaint I have is how the film treats the Mandarin, which I feels betrays the source material and misses an opportunity to create a truly magnificent villain. Rebecca Hall's character comes across as unnecessary, and despite being a fine actress, she does not add much to the plot.
Overall, Iron Man 3 tries to make some political statements regarding the war on terror and political accountability, and also does so with Tony and Pepper's relationship, but does so ineffectively and haphazardly due to the other flaws in the film and only gets 2 out of 4 stars.