Unlike IM2, this one does not disappoint. Don't listen to the haters, it's a great movie!

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2013)

Obviously one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the year. It's always very important for any movie in a franchise to do well after a big movie, such as the event that was "The Avengers". But IM3 totally exceeded the expectations and proved that we fans had nothing to worry about. It combines all the best things from the previous two Iron Man films, with a story and a cast that was still original enough to make for a great movie. Also, the entire Iron Man franchise is very rooted in the ideas of self-destruction and regret. Therefore, if you pay attention to these themes in all three films, then you notice a progressive full-circle kind of thing. The first Iron Man introduced us to the character of Tony Stark and his genius, but there were slight implications of self-destruction in that if he didn't figure out something to do with all of his money and technology, then he would never be able to make up for all the mistakes he made as a weapons supplier/dealer. In IM2, he absolutely has to figure out how to fix his relationships with others and the problem with his arc reactor, or he will most certainly die and regret how he didn't fix them. And now, in Iron Man 3, his obsession with building all these different suits and using them to save the world has finally come back around to bite him in the butt, and he has to figure how to fix it all by himself. This leads to some very welcome flashbacks from Tony's experiences in "The Avengers". The film's big twist is surprising and very well thought out/set up. Others have said that this totally eliminates the entire idea of the villain, but the film makes it clear that the villain still exists within the film, just in an unexpected way. Besides, when anyone feels that the physical villain of the film does not satisfy, they can always rely on that self-destructive factor of Tony himself. That is also a villain, even if it's just in the metaphorical sense. Shane Black's direction makes sure there is a definite balance between action, great emotion/feeling, and some comedy. At times in the film, all of these things will exist in one scene, usually one right after the other. Unsurprisingly, RDJ turns in a terrific job once again. The rest of the cast also does a great job, especially Paltrow and Pearce. IM3 also doesn't disappoint in the general sense of the franchise. While Iron Man was and still is a great movie, Iron Man 2 was all over the place and never did really find a central theme, but there were certain parts of it that were very good and somewhat made up for where it fell short. Now, Iron Man 3 has absolutely wowed the socks off all its appreciative fans, and still is, according to the box office numbers. It featured what we loved from the first Iron Man in spades, while still kicking all of that up a notch with a much stronger central theme. Therefore, it is the best in the series for me.