A good Tony Stark movie

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2013)

I remember that after seeing the first trailer I was thrilled about the Mandarin and new suits. HOwever, after finally watching Iron Man 3, I was a bit confused.
Don't get me wrong,it is a darn good movie, but I feel like some things were played out in a wrong way. In example, Mark 42 was supposed to be the most advanced suit of all. It was funny to watch all the glitches Tony had with that suit, but I was really disappointed how fragile the suits after Mark 7 became. In Avengers Mark 6 withstood a lightning attack from Thor, but here the suit is destroyed in an accident with a truck - c'mon on guys (it was funny, but stupid for Stark).
The main idea of movie being set a few months after the Chitauri invasion of New York and Tony Stark is haunted by the experience, having nightmares, panic attacks and staying up all night tinkering with his inventions was neat.
Somehow, I am under the impression that this movie shouldn't have been called Iron Man 3, but Tony Stark - The Motion Picture. In my opinion, we see too much of Stark and too little of Iron Man. On the other hand, I was expecting to see more of Tony's tinkering around the suits, as in the first one when he was building his Mark 2 and its boosters and exteriors.
The take on Mandarin was new and surprising. However, I don't think the incarnation did justice to the character. I was expecting the Mandarin to be the true leader of the Ten Rings that kidnapped Stark in the first one, but no. I somehow hope that the real Mandarin will show up in later Iron Man or Avengers films.
The ending itself was great and unexpected, no matter what people say. Tony Stark will always be Iron man. But I somehow don't get the fact how Tony managed to cure Pepper. That should have been elaborated - did he upgrade the Extremis or what, and will he use it on himself in Avengers 2 or Iron Man 4? Who knows. However, Tony is a great tech maniac, not a chemist.
to conclude, I would give the movie 8/10