A movie that could have been better executed, yet still succeeds in what it wanted to do.

Rating: 7/10 (11 August 2014)

'Iron Man 3' takes off where 'Marvel's The Avengers' ended. After an invasion by an alien horde, led by the Asgardian Loki, the world is adjusting to the idea of aliens and monsters and gods inhabiting the universe; and our hero, Tony Stark, is left with mental scars and panic attacks after the battle of New York. Not only that, but he now has a few ghosts from his past to take care of as well: a terrorist leader, The Mandarin (who was responsible for Tony's kidnapping and multiple other evil-doings throughout the movies), and Aldrich Killian – a scientist gone mad after an event revolving around Tony Stark and broken promises.
This is by far the best character driven movie of all the Marvel movies thus far - which is a nice change of pace. In terms of story, there is quite a few things left to be desired, but if you're not going to nit- pick or analyze it too harshly, you'll enjoy the overall narrative. The pacing was quite brisk, which was fantastic. The previous Iron Man movies had a much steadier pace (and a fairly underwhelming third act), but this beast was the exact opposite: you never know where it's going next and it doesn't ever stop to catch a breath.
The main characters were all very well fleshed out. Robert Downey Jr. took his performance to a whole new level. We see such a different side of the character we've grown used to over the past few years, and it worked extremely well... If anything, the end of the movie really makes you wonder where things will go next. Because of that, this movie will "reignite" many people's interest in this character (other movie franchises such as the Pirates of the Caribbean could learn a thing or two from this). Don Cheadle (Rhodey) and Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper) had much more important roles this time round, which was great. I don't feel like I have more respect or admiration for the characters after seeing the movie, but it was nice that they were given something to work with besides "best friend" and "love interest". Sir Ben Kingsley's portrayal of The Mandarin character will be a love/hate thing with most, but whichever way you feel, there's no denying it: his actual performance was good. Guy Pearce (Aldrich Killian) kind of played the token "evil scientist" role. Even his motivations for doing what he does comes across as a cliché, but for the most part, he's an enjoyable character... despite being a little forgettable. The "kid-helper", Harley Keener, was something I was very nervous about, and the inclusion of such a character could very well have ruined the movie, but oddly, it worked! I'm not a fan of child actors, but this kid didn't come across as the usual "Oh golly! I'm a little kid helping a superhero!"-type character. It actually felt very real and the chemistry between him and RDJ was great. The other characters weren't given much to do unfortunately... so there isn't really anything worth pointing out on that front.
As far as the action and VFX goes, it was insane. Visually, this is a very different movie than any of the other Marvel movies - and I can't stress that enough... DIFFERENT. In a way, it almost felt a little too far out there at times (especially with the ways in which Stark now "suits up"), but when you have Norse gods and green rage monsters in the same "world", I think it's a given that people should provide a little leeway if they want to enjoy the ride. Some if the CGI shots seemed overly fake (again, mainly the way in which Stark gets in and out of his suits), but there are plenty of brilliant shots that'll make you forget about those. In terms of spectacle and scale, don't let the early reactions fool you: this isn't as big as The Avengers, or as funny - but it is the closest we might get in a while. For me, the action wasn't as memorable as The Avengers' either. For instance, in The Avengers we had iconic superhero fights and moments, whereas in this one, I couldn't really find any iconic "poses" or "moves".
Other aspects of the film: The score was great. It's not as memorable as Ramin Djawadi's score for the first movie, but this one will most definitely go down as one of the more memorable scores in superhero-movie-history. The 3D was surprisingly exceptional. There aren't many pop-out effects, and that's exactly what makes it work so well! It adds depth and makes you feel closer to the characters. In fact, some of the best 3D moments in this movie were during the intimate, dialogue driven scenes. The post credit scene was fun. I'm not going to spoil anything, but it was super fun. That scene at the end really ties the movie up in a nice little bow.
One's enjoyment of the movie really depends on where one's loyalties lie. If you're just a casual movie fan, looking for a good time, you'll love this movie. However, if you're a comic book die-hard or a cinephile, I think there might very well be a few things that'll annoy you, and distract you from enjoying the film to its fullest. My advice would be to go into the theater with an open mind, and your expectations dialed down a bit. Also, don't try and compare it to The Avengers (which is what I tried to do) - if you can do that, you'll have a fantastic time.
In summation, I'd like to reiterate that this is a wonderful, character- driven film, and extremely different from any of MCU's other films. The director's vision is something that was also apparent throughout. It makes me excited to see what Marvels Studios has in store for us next...