Iron Man? Iron out the wrinkles, more like!

Rating: 7/10 (25 May 2013)

There is a tendency with all sequels for bigger, better, more flashy. A need to have a bigger menace, more capable foes, more, more, more.
In the case of Iron Man 3 they crossed the threshold and went too far. I've always liked Iron Man (as opposed to the other super hero movies) because it seems to be more realistic and achievable. In other words, science fiction, rather than crazy hokum dreamed up by someone on crack. Iron Man had a basis in reality far stronger than the rest, and that is why I liked it more.
Sadly, with its drug-induced lava humans who can melt anything but suffer no damage, it went beyond the boundary of what I think was acceptable for this franchise.
Add in the fact that the whole movie plays out (for most of the film) like a Bond movie with nary a sight of Iron Man in action, and you can't help but wonder when the action will begin.
The biggest failing was in the needless visual gags, usually centred around Tony Stark putting on his armour (which seems to have become a swarm-like entity in its own right) and which involve slapstick-like comedy not seen since the days of the Three Stooges. Once or twice this might have been humorous. But it happens time after time, as if they couldn't think of anything else to do with it.
There are good things in the movie, such as Stark's character's journey from neurosis back to hero, and the fact that they finally gave Gwynneth Paltrow something to do other than stare into Robert Downey's eyes longingly. But the good parts are outweighed by the stupidity in trying to do too much and "push the limits" of what the character can do.
SUMMARY: Overblown and overdone. Comedy from your grandad's era. Utter nonsense passed off as science, but without the decency to call it homeopathy. Easily the weakest of the three Iron Man films to date.