Iron Man 3 - Brilliant Despite Its Flaws

Rating: 9/10 (4 May 2013)

Only because I've seen SO many bad reviews on here am I compelled to write an unbiased review. I'm not an Iron Man comic fan, but I'm a huge fan of the film franchise and Robert Downey Jr. So any hang ups others have with the storyline, I don't care.
I can tell you that the script, the dialogue, and the Downey are brilliant. I'm giving away my old age when I say I had Lethal Weapon flashbacks through the entire movie. Iron Man 3 is truly a triumph for Shane Black, and I give him props for fighting back from the brink and coming through looking good! The plot is complicated and doesn't always seem like there is one, but that's only because Black is playing it close to the chest for the big twists toward the end.
Tony Stark can't sleep in the wake of the Avengers, and he's having trouble coming to grips with his most selfless act at the end of that movie. Basically, he's a selfish guy, we love him for it... And yet here he has gone and given his life to save humanity (it was pretty much a fluke he survived, so I'm giving him props too for going all the way with it). You'd be pretty messed up too if you were a super-rich playboy one day, a introspective entrepreneur the next, and then nearly killed by sacrificing yourself to save Earth the last.
This movie is all about personal demons. It says so from the start... And why wouldn't it be? Both Black and Downey probably share the same sponsor... These guys have been to hell and back... They know about demons. From the first frame Tony is fighting his demons, and since life has a funny way of knowing when you're struggling, events begin to unfold that have him questioning his very existence as Iron Man. Can he save the world and protect the woman he loves? Can he be a selfless protector and an OCD hermit crab at the same time? Can he move away from a past full of trampling over others to get to where he wants to be? I realize these are pretty big themes for a summer blockbuster, but Iron Man 3 isn't your every-day actioner. This isn't The Avengers. This is an intensely personal film that finalizes the 3-movie-arc of Tony Stark's transformation from what he was, into what he will be. For a solid hour in the middle of the movie he's not even in the suit. He's out solving a mystery, chasing leads, and chumming it up with a surrogate child/inner child in Tennessee. Throw in a maniacal terrorist, a power-hungry industrialist, and an army of T100-looking Extremis soldiers, and you've got yourself a summer movie! I would have like more exposition with Rebecca Hall's character and the background on Extremis, and I would've liked more of a fore-shadow than "Mark 42" but all in all I have very little complaints about this film. It's well acted, it's hilarious, the Air Force One scene alone is worth price of admission, and I bit my nails the entire movie. I don't know why everyone seems to hate it, and by everyone I mean the few thousand people that troll IMDb... But I loved it.
Every single choice the filmmakers had to do the same old thing, they chose something else. Just when you think cliché is about to happen, Black spins it. It's really fun to watch. Plus like I said before, if you're a Lethal Weapon fan you'll love this flick. There's a Christmas theme, snappy one-liners, a buddy-cop-flick feel, and even an Xmas tree lot! Come on, how can I be the only one catching this?? The finale even takes place on a BOAT! (I realize that's Lethal Weapon 2, but you're getting my drift here right?) Brilliant movie. Don't believe the negative hype. It's smartly made, smartly written, and I think when all of these haters watch it again they'll realized what they missed before and change their minds. Go summer 2013 movie season!