Not the best but worth watching

Rating: 6/10 (18 August 2013)

I had many mixed feelings about this movie. It has a different feel from the other two movies. It's not bad to the point where it's unwatchable but it's not good that it's an amazing movie. It's somewhere in between but calling it "okay" isn't enough to describe this movie.
This movie has it's ups and downs. The beginning started off pretty bad. I was really annoyed Jon Favreau's character. Whenever he was on screen it made me feel like I was watching an unfunny comedy. He completely changed the feel of an action movie. He was an unforgettable character. The scene with him that bothered me the most is when he goes to the Chinese Theater. That part was completely unnecessary. If he had acted like any other character then he would have waited for back up. I mean come on. He's not in the shape to fight anyone. Luckily for me, unfortunately for his character, he gets severely hurt that takes him out of the movie until the end and you can't even remember he was there.
The Mandarin, the real one played by Guy Pearce, didn't feel like he belonged there. Guy Pearce is an excellent actor but I didn't see him in this movie. He always has a personality in each movie. He always changes his look. He makes a commitment. Guy didn't change his look to drastic measures like "Prometheus" or even smaller ones like "Lawless". He just looked like a hairier version of himself. His acting was also not his normal "top notch".
Ben Kingsley was alright in this movie. He wasn't at his best either but it wasn't dreadful. By the time you find out that his character was actually an actor you've reached the point where you accept this film as an action comedy. His character did have the better jokes. He was one of the more interesting too even though he didn't do much. He still managed to entertain me.
Robert Downey Jr. was great in this movie. He brought back the same Iron Man that we all loved from the first film. He really made the difference. He had his egotistical attitude. He was once again scrapped of a suit and had to build one again. I don't have much to say about him since he was just great.
Gwyneth Paltrow was excellent too. I heard many people say that she was in the movie too much to the point where it was unbearable. I would say that she got the same amount of screen time as anyone else. It didn't matter though because she was on the same level as Robert. The two on screen were an excellent pair as they have been since the first film.
Rebecca Hall was there but didn't change much. Don Cheadle still doesn't cut it as a perfect Rhodey but he was definitely better than he was in "Iron Man 2".
The story wasn't the best. It starts slow and comedic until Tony Stark threatens the Mandarin. He gets attacked at his home and then flees. Throughout the film it's filled with ups and downs.
The visual effects could have been done better. They were good but nothing that stands out beyond other films such as "Star Trek: Into Darkness" or "Prometheus".
The directing was bad. It's as if he didn't know if he wanted to make it a comedy or an action which goes along with this films cinematography. The camera was fine but the lighting was terrible. The lighting helped make it comedic. This all sort of evens out towards the end where you have a very entertaining fight scene filmed in a very steady way.
Overall, this movie is worth the time. It's extremely flawed but it's enough that you'll enjoy it.