From "Rock Star" to "Rock Bottom"

Rating: 6/10 (29 April 2013)

Iron Man. The name itself evokes power, strength, patriarchal dominance and confidence. So why do the events of Iron Man 3 lack so much of the prowess and subtlety of its predecessors? Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) journey throughout the Iron Man franchise has taken its ups and downs, but none worse than the final chapter in this twisted metal of a franchise.
Set after the events of the critically acclaimed blockbuster "The Avengers", Iron Man 3 takes the audience on a journey of pseudo redemption and self discovery. Take away everything that was given to you in Iron Man 1 and 2: all of the sleek sexy locations, the gadgets and tech of Stark Industries and what you have left is a bleak, boring Marvel wasteland.
The performances by Downey and Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts) are to be expected and their chemistry works well, what remains are characters that drop off into the background and annoying scenes of awkward dialogue forced with a strange undertone of the Christmas Season. Yes Christmas. I am not sure why the theme of Christmas was so prevalent throughout the film, even to a point where Stark uses Christmas decorations as grenades!
Guy Pearce (Aldrich Killian) plays a stock standard, rich evil genius convincingly and Sir Ben Kingsley's portrayal of the super villain The Mandarin ends up to be disappointing. Most deflating are the characters played by Don Cheadel (War Machine/James Rhodes) and Rebecca Hall (Maya Hansen), serving only to push the movie forward into obscurity.
The redeeming features of this film lie in brief moments of comedic relief and some scenes of impressive computer generated imagery. Incorporated into the story is Stark's post New York stress, a direct result of the events that transpired in The Avengers film. This motif of acceptance and how Stark dealt with these events was very interesting, but were ultimately forgotten by the end credits.
Skimming over hot topics of suicide bombings and the American involvement in the Middle East, Stark's humour and wit diffuse any chance of a meaningful message. With a rather annoying twist near the last act, the film shows its true colours. Suffering from the same writing woes as Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith, all the plot holes and character arch's are tied up in the closing minutes of the film. Directed by renowned screenwriter Shane Black (Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout) Iron Man 3 finishes this lackluster trilogy with a Stark attempt at trying something new.