Pulp for Genre Purists

Rating: 7/10 (13 February 2014)

Iron Man 3 is more of a moving comic than a motion picture. Even the cinematography is reminiscent of old-time comic book panels. The story is light years from any reality we participate in. Like the best comics, it alludes to various aspects of history and reality cleverly but without yielding to the oppression of the everyday. Iron Man 3 is not entirely consistent with the rest of the franchise, however. Iron Man's various armor configurations appear to be a lot less resilient and functional than in the previous films (a bit like the difference between the creature in Alien and those of Aliens).
Tony Stark is experiencing a great deal of apparently justifiable paranoia. He is also suffering from crippling anxiety attacks and nightmares. At one point, he is diagnosed by the most likable, heroic, and memorable character in the film - pre-teen Harley Keener (played by Ty Simpkins) - as suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Stark is facing a shadowy, almost invisible, enemy, who is apparently hidden in plain sight. Having lost what would appear to be a decisive battle, Stark must rely on his wits, his own unreliable technology, and a series of unlikely heroes - a young boy (Simpkins), the alcoholic mother of a dead soldier, a media operator with a good internet connection - to prevail. Of course, Pepper (Paltrow), his AI Jarvis (Paul Bettany) and War Machine/Iron Patriot/Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle) also come in handy.
The plot is extremely predictable, but it moves along and successfully relies on escapism, awe-inspiring effects, and entertainment value.
With their respective talents, Paltrow, Downey and Pearce didn't even need to try. Paltrow and Pearce do, however, and really make the film worth watching. Downey never seems as fully engaged with this script as he has in previous comic book films. All the same, Iron Man 3 is a lot of fun and will appeal to those in search of the insane action, dysfunctional myopia of the main character and the tongue-in-cheek, slightly smarter-than-average dialog that characterize this franchise.