Robert Downey Jr.'s performance and witty dialog saves "Iron Man 3" from a shoddy plot and a passé villain

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2013)

The Good:
Robert Downey Jr.'s Performance: This goes without saying in an Iron Man movie. Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man/Tony Stark. He nails the role sublimely because the character he's portraying is virtually indistinguishable from how he acts in real life. Before this film, Downey's best portrayal of Tony Stark was in the first "Iron Man" when he goes from an egocentric war profiteer to an evolving hero who still retains the same wit and charm but uses it in a more responsible way. "Iron Man 2" hit the skids and completely disregarded all of the first film's character building progress and makes Stark more selfish and egotistical than he was in the beginning of the first film. In "The Avengers," the writers, director, and RDJ played it safe and found just the right leeway of ego for Stark to play off the other characters without overshadowing them. In "Iron Man 3," Tony Stark's ego and personality is flawlessly modulated in this film. While tormented from the events following "The Avengers," he still retains the singular wit and charm at the appropriate levels that made him so enjoyable in the first one.
"The Avengers" Transition: Iron Man 3 is the first "post-Avengers" film in their franchise and they dealt with the aftermath from "The Avengers" excellently. This is to say that they did not attempt to build off of its success with a bigger and more explosive epic. In fact there is very little action in Iron Man 3 in comparison. This is not a flaw because the story takes a step back from the action and deals with the development of characters and how they react to the events of "The Avengers." These events had profound effects on virtually every major character involved in the Iron Man universe, especially Stark. Everything in Stark's world is put into question from his relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) to why he continues to build Iron Man suits. The events of "The Avengers" also influence Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and America's homeland security strategy. The blow-back of "The Avengers" even plays a role in the villain's motives. The writers and director dealt with the aftermath of "The Avengers" in a very intelligent way. The jury is still out on how the blow-back will affect Thor and Captain American in their worlds but at least the first step after "The Avengers" is done right.
The Bad (Minor flaws in the film that are forgivable):
Shane Black's directing style: This is not necessarily a criticism so much as it is just pointing out that Shane Black directed this movie. Black is known for his "buddy cop" style movies laced with witty dialog, which for some reason always happen around Christmas. (I wondered about that for the whole movie) There is a noticeable shift in tonal "gears" at the beginning which is a little annoying, there is some exchange of witty repartee that is slightly over the top but after the first act, Black directs the movie excellently.
The Ugly (Major flaws in the film):
Shoddy plot: While the movie deals with characters and their life in the aftermath of quite possibly the biggest and most epic superhero movie ever made to date in a very competent way, the mechanics of the story are a bit problematic. Without venturing too far into spoiler territory, Tony Stark makes a tactical mistake which affects his ability to use his suits, until the climax when information is revealed which may cause audience members to question why didn't Stark do this earlier. Also audience members may infer that Stark makes one of the greatest biological discoveries in the history of humanity to resolve the final "loose ends" of the plot. (Do not read too much into it, the film doesn't read into it at all.)
Passé villains and plot devices: The most crippling part of this movie is the fact that Ben Kingsley's Mandarin is past his prime. This is to say that he is an artifact of American cinema in a time which American culture is going in a different direction. Kingsley's Mandarin is an unholy union between Heath Ledger's Joker and Osama Bin Laden. The problem with this is both of these people are dead (RIP Heath Ledger we will always miss you as for Osama Bin Laden, good riddance). While it is true that Heath Ledger's Joker has left an indelible mark on American cinema which cannot be ignored, the time has come for a new archetypal villain. In the meantime, the Ledger Joker villain archetype is acceptable provided the actor does not do an impersonation of the iconic character. Kingsley's Mandarin delivers eastern militant lines a la Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda like Heath Ledger's Joker. This can be heard in the trailer. The delivery of Kingsley's lines is identical to that of a person doing a Heath Ledger impersonation. No more homage! No more rip offs! Move on! In keeping with things that are passé and need to move on, there is a very subtle political criticism of a certain President of the United States and it's not our current one. Yes! Almost four and a half years after he left office, American cinema is still Bush-bashing. George W. Bush has been bashed so much for so long that doing it in storytelling has become passé and unoriginal. Our government is even more inept and corrupt now than it was during the Bush era, there is an abundance of material from which to choose and criticize. Having a villain who opposes a President who is in league with "Big Oil" worked during the Bush-era, now it doesn't. While the script does employ a very clever plot twist to protect itself, the fact remains that it is time for a change in social commentary.