Takes everything great about Iron Man and turns it into a farce

Rating: 5/10 (23 June 2013)

What happens when you get a director/writer of comedies with action in them and put him at the helm of Iron Man? You get a bloated movie with lots of corny comedy and some action.
The first Iron Man is arguably one of the greatest comic book adaptions ever made. The second film is generic and felt incredibly rushed and constrained by the guidelines Marvel were putting on the film to lead into the Avengers. The third film is a farce of Iron Man's former glory.
The basic plot is that of revenge. A man who was once shunned by Tony, develops a serum (I'm not calling it extremis because that isn't what it is) that lets people regenerate fallen limbs, but at a cost; they also can overheat and explode, essentially turning them into lava machines.
The first two Iron Man films were grounded in reality but they showcased wonderful sci-fi elements that seemed plausible. Does having magma for blood and the ability to regenerate limbs seem like grounded realism to you?
The comedy in this film is almost always rushed, lingers far to long when its on screen, and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth when you've finished watching it. Do we really need to see Tony say, "just wait, wait until my hand shows up" for a minute and a half, which is just one overly long joke?
Do no even get me started on Mandarin. In the first 2 Iron Man films we get to see hints at the Mandarin, part of his Ten Rings organization are who kidnapped Tony in the first film. But what they did to the character in this film basically overrides anything in them by saying Mandarin as you know him doesn't exist; he's a washed up British actor who is pretending to be Mandarin....excuse me, what? Really, is that really the best you can come up with.
As far as solo Iron Man films go, this is the worst and I'm done with watching them. From now on the only Iron Man I will be seeing is in the Avengers sequels.
5 out of 10 for bad acting, bad script, campy humor, and lackluster action sequences.