It's Not the 80s Anymore

Rating: 7/10 (4 May 2013)

We all enjoy the movies from the 1980s. But the world has changed since then. Many of the reviews talk about 9/11 and how "Iron Man 3" is not appropriately addressing the cultural impact or reflecting the unhealed culture or other 9/11 related things. I agree with the fact that this film's story seems dated.
Shane Black isn't an action filmmaker he is a comedy filmmaker. This film has some laughs but can we really go back to laughing at our superheroes? Didn't the Dark Knight trilogy teach us the deeper resonance of these mythic characters? Superheroes are "supergods" or mythic gods (see Grant Morrison's book: Supergods) They aren't just wise-crackin', one-liner spoutin', cops with issues (or "one week 'till retirement) anymore. The 80s are over and so are the excuses for plot hole ridden stories acting as skeletons for set-pieces and FX work.
When was the last time you saw a film that you didn't say: "At least the FX were good." Good, spectacular even, FX are the standard now, they can't carry films anymore.
Don't say, "It's just a comic-book movie", unless you have actually read a comic book (Sunday funnies don't count, it has to be a graphic novel, or at least a complete story arc from a single issue series). Anyone who has read comics, even bad comics, knows that the kind of plot-holes like those in "Iron Man 3" would never survive in comics.
"Iron Man 3" would have been great 20-30 years ago, but that ship has sailed. Along with having your character chit-chat with their gun-toting buddy while they shoot nameless henchmen. (yeah, that's in "Iron Man 3" AND "Lethal Weapon" AND a thousand other films that WERE good).