It has issues, but the action definitely entertains you. It's a big step up from Iron Man II

Rating: 7/10 (19 November 2013)

I really enjoyed the first one, but couldn't stand the second movie. In all honesty I wasn't looking forward to this one very much. Tony Stark is an abrasive hero, and I can either take him or leave him. This movie was a bit overlong, but I did enjoy it to a certain extent. I really liked how they made Tony Stark's character so vulnerable in this movie. He had so much to lose, and they went a bit of a different route. Tony isn't always arrogant in this movie. He has a lot of feelings, and many fears. They explore Tony's anxiety issues in this sequel, and I thought that was pretty ballsy. I was able to get behind the character more this time around because of it. I felt there were too many villains in this movie. It goes down the road of Superman 3 a little bit with how many villains it has, and ironically enough. I enjoyed Iron Man 3 as much as I enjoyed Superman III. It just felt like they were trying to stack the insurmountable odds for Tony Stark in this one. The women are especially underdeveloped. Why was Rebecca Hall here again? She looked great, but doesn't have much of a part. Gwyneth Paltrow plays the charming, damsel in distress for most of the movie before her character gets an admittedly cool twist in the finale. I'll just say it was a lot of fun. She even gets to be Iron Man succinctly in the beginning. How cool is that? It's just too bad I didn't feel much emotion from Downey & Paltrow when it came to their respective characters for their romance. Guy Pearce makes for a decent villain. Ben Kingsley feels wasted. Don Cheadle's patriotic Iron Man suit impressed me, but that's about it. The action is where this movie is at. It has many great action scenes, scattered throughout, but the finale is often breathtaking. It's filled with big stunts, explosions, and some amazing stuff. I definitely wasn't disappointed in the abundance of action
Final Thoughts: This is a big step in the right direction. It's very flawed, but it has enough going for it to be an entertaining blockbuster. I'd be down for a part 4, as long as it's quality
7/10