New director, same entertainment factor.

Rating: 7/10 (7 May 2013)

On the plus side, director Shane Black essentially does with "Iron Man 3" what Sam Mendes did for the Bond franchise with "Skyfall". He put it back on track (at least creatively anyway). It's not like "Iron Man 2" was a bad superhero movie (especially next to "Captain America: The First Avenger") but coming off of the initial blockbuster that was "Iron Man", director John Favreau had much to live up to. Thus, for a lot of people "Iron Man 2" was a minor disappointment, of which Black has been sent in to correct. Now, does Black accomplish something profound here? Something Favreau wasn't able to do with the previous Iron Man's? Well, the answer is no, not really. Though the material is funnier, much of the visuals are explosion-centric and there is a startling amount of Gwyenth Paltrow abs, the direction isn't as different as many are claiming (which is a good thing). In the end, "Iron Man 3" is more of Robert Downey Jr.'s charismatic sensibility, and that's basically all that matters when talking about this franchise.
Synopsis: When Tony Stark/Iron Man begins suffering from panic attacks on the wake of terrorist attacks by the Bin Laden-esque evil doer, The Mandarin, he begins to reevaluate what being Iron Man actually means to his livelihood and sanity. So, while that storyline sounds dark (or Nolan-esque) "Iron Man 3" sadly contains a more prominent and quite generic storyline, having to do with an alternate villain. A villain who has been cleverly left out of the trailers, but after an experiment gone wrong, plans to take over the world (don't they always?).When these two story lines combine, the plot itself isn't as strong as I expected. In fact, at times it becomes a bit overcomplicated. But again, the Iron Man franchise has always been more about the performances and the snappy dialogue than the plot.
Supporting Cast: Ty Simpkins (or mini-Robert Downey Jr. as I like to call him) the little boy who plays Harley Keener, steals the show for the relatively small amount of time he is on screen. Actually it is the chemistry between him and Downey Jr. during their scenes together, which are unequivocally the funniest moments of the film. As for Paltrow, who returns in her role as Pepper Potts, she is pretty blah. But not enough to be a distraction, somoving on.
Side Note: Undeniably, the most questionable aspect of "Iron Man 3" has to be the (dare I say) innovative way Black chooses to play out the role of The Mandarin (played by Ben Kingsley) whose character takes a comically unexpected, but spoiler-ridden turn half way through the movie. That said, when the villain in a superhero movie is delivering an abundance of funny lines, one could make the argument that at times the dialogue and scenarios have become a bit too Joss Whedon for their own good. And before you say it, I realize that Whedon wasn't a part of the writing team of "Iron Man 3". But maybe my issue with this overly comedic tone used for The Mandarin character goes back to the fundamental flaw with trying to compare the future of Disney's Marvel world with the future of DC comic films. On the wings of Christopher Nolan, DC has gone down the path of heavy drama, creating characters who are more flawed, more disturbed and more realistic. Now, Marvel seems to be going the other way with it, keeping an old fashioned sense of comic book levity, with film after film constructed on comedic foundations; i.e. "Iron Man" or "The Avengers". Meaning, even though there is superhero action throughout, in Marvel films there are not only many comic relief characters, but also protagonists and antagonist who are quirky and quick with a funny one liner. So with that logic, the fact that "Iron Man 3" must be labeled as a superhero action/comedy, should not be held against it by fans of The Dark Knight franchise (like myself). In other words, from this point forward, if you are going to see a Marvel film, be expected to laugh. On the other hand, everything I've just stated may end up being toilet fodder with the upcoming release of Marvel's "The Wolverine".
Final Thought: Don't bother waiting around to see what clip is shown after the credits of this film. Trust me. The movie is long enough and the post credits clip is definitely not worth holding in a bladder full of urine for.
Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland
Follow me on Twitter @moviesmarkus