Decent, but it ain't no "Iron Man".

Rating: 7/10 (19 June 2013)

I am sure that "Iron Man 3" will make a ton of money and satisfy audiences. But, at the same time, it delivers something that is not the original "Iron Man"—it's got more than the original and so much less. First the more—the film has more stunts, more CGI, more action and more explosions than ever before in the series. If that is what you're looking for, then you'll no doubt be satisfied. As far as less goes, the film has much less in the way of plot, characters and, especially, fun. Now I am not saying it's a bad film—but by this third film in the series (and the fourth appearance by Robert Downey Jr. as the lead) the formula is a bit faded. Good.but faded.
By this installment, like his comic book character, Tony is a serious screwball. He rarely sleeps and has significant problems with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. And, at times, he seems more machine than man. Not surprisingly, his personal life is a mess. At the same time, two threats are looming—one by a brilliant but morally suspect inventor (Guy Pearce) and another from a lunatic seemingly modeled after Osama Bin-Laden (Ben Kingsley). While the Pearce plot is much more important to the film, I really liked what they did with Kingsley, as this was an injection of humor—and the film needed all it could get. In fact, Kingsley's character and performance is my favorite thing about the movie. Now the cute is isn't bad, either, but he did seem a bit like a cliché. The bottom line is that Tony needs to come, once again, to the aid of the world and in the process there are fifty bazillion stunts, explosions, MANY situations in which he could not possibly survive (yet he doeswhich makes little sense) and a lot of 3-D. Now the 3-D portion bothered me, as it really wasn't necessary for the film and didn't enhance or detract from my viewing at all. If I had the choice, I'd probably see the normal version simply because it's cheaper.
Oh, and by the way, where are the great AC/DC tunes? Instead, the soundtrack is okay but features songs by Dwight Yoakim. I am sure Yoakim is a nice guybut he's not AC/DC. So, in summary, I wanted more humor, less explosions, more plot and more AC/DC. If we can't have that, perhaps this should be the last film in the series—and the end does hint that that COULD be the case.maybe.