A glossy blockbuster with many redeeming qualities

Rating: 6/10 (16 June 2013)

Iron Man 3 continues the franchise on a familiar note: it has action, international weapon politics, technobabble, and Robert Downey Jr's trademark banter. The story takes a somewhat dark path but overall the film has a lighthearted outlook and has its fair share of comedy.
Ben Kingsley is pretty awesome in his role as The Mandarin, and the twist involving his character is clever and surprisingly surprising. Other than that, the story doesn't offer much that's original. Guy Pearce's character (a mad scientist idolizing and resenting Tony Stark) works at the beginning but goes on a downward slope and ends up ridiculous. Rebecca Hall is great as Tony's ex and you could cut the tension between her and Gwyneth Paltrow with a knife.
The third act of the film is rather embarrassing, consisting almost entirely of a silly CGI fight with robots and flame-men.