Better than I expected, but worse than I'd hoped.

Rating: 5/10 (3 May 2013)

The first Iron Man movie changed the way comic book adaptions were made. It (for better or worse) began the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" that climaxed with The Avengers. This is the first marvel movie to be released after The Avengers, and in many ways it proves that the series is still going strong, however, it is far from perfect.
ACTING: 8/10
The acting from the main cast members is great. Robert Downey Jr. continues to be the perfect Iron Man, I just can't imagine a better suited actor. His comedic timing is perfect, and he allows Tony Stark to be lovable while being a total jerk. Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle don't get a ton of screen time, however, they are wonderful when they do. Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce, and Rebecca Hall are all fantastic and underused. The rest of the cast is perfectly adequate, however, there seems to be a theme of casting great talents and completely under using them.
WRITING: 3/10
This is the biggest failure of the movie. The comedy works well (partially thanks to Robert Downey Jr.) and the action scenes are good, however the plot hidden behind the popcorn fun is plain awful. I have never really liked movies that deal with "super soldiers" and "protecting the president," and this movie deals with both badly. The technology written into the series continues to become more and more ridiculous. And the twist is both easy to predict and manages to reduce the main villains role to nothing. Finally, the scene after the credits is a bit of a let down as it gives no hint towards the direction of the series.
DESIGN: 6/10
The design is just as good as previous films in the series, which is to say that it fits somewhere between satisfactory and slightly above average. The tech looks great despite its lack of plausibility, and the wardrobe and sets fit the overall tone of the movie.
EFFECTS: 10/10
The CGI is near perfect in this film, and there is a ton of it. There are scenes where Iron Man's suit magnetically attaches to Tony in separate pieces and it looks totally convincing. The explosions and impossible technology looks great too.
MUSIC: 4/10
The soundtrack in this movie is awful. Hans Zimmer has inspired many with his booming and electronic score for Inception and the Batman franchise. This concept has been replicated a hundred times since those movies, and in lesser hands it is nothing but a loud mess. This is the case with Iron Man 3. The score is loud and booming, and completely forgettable, dull and repetitive.
VERDICT:
This movie is mindless, unimpressive, forgettable, action packed... and thoroughly enjoyable. It is a great summer blockbuster popcorn movie that will leave your mind as soon as you leave the theater. That being said, if you liked The Avengers and Iron Man 2, you will likely enjoy this movie as well. Overall, I give it a 6.2/10