Iron Man Three

The third Iron Man is a bit too minimalist in my opinion and overloaded with too many alternative plot elements. The first one was nicely compact and light. The second was oversized, but the action scenes were breathtaking and spectacularly executed. The third one is chatty, somewhat funny, the inner "Dark Knight" mood of the main character is a bit excessive with a considerable amount of irony, and there is almost no action (only two scenes, one of which is breathtaking, and the other is traditionally overwrought). I wanted a summer blockbuster, but what could they come up with in the third installment (the fourth one if I count the pumped-up Avengers) to make it feel fresh, innovative, and entertaining for millions of people? There isn't much. They got serious and humanized Iron Man, some people like it, some don't. I wanted to be "carried away" and instead, I was forced to "think". (05/03/2013)

There was no better way to do it after the excessive The Avengers and the boredom of the second film. How do you not make a theater play after a blonde pancake-eater with a hammer hits the ground and New York is threatened by an alien invasion? Make a pure, sometimes even slapstick comedy, which is based on the strongest feature of Iron Man - self-irony, disrespect, audacity. It is no coincidence that Black literally devalues the "sacred" armor, which turns into a pile of recyclable junk. Stark can do without it for most of the film. He is a mechanic, a billionaire, a philanthropist and a laid-back guy who does not lose his humor even during a panic attack. There is something about guilt here and there, but we all know that his only real guilt in the third film is that he remained an outspoken child. It's good that the fatality has diminished and that the third film almost feels like cabaret with a lot of beautiful slips where the floor starts to pathetically stick. Shane Black gave it maximum juice and energy. This is not even about the action that traditionally bothered me at the end with its dull grandeur; it's about cheeky details, small gestures and one of the most luxurious (non) Marvel twists. Favreau managed to film Iron Man as a fun comic blockbuster, while Black filmed Iron Man as Tony Stark sees him. Because he is the Iron Man. And it works great for him. (04/26/2013)

The best Iron Man, sure, but nothing to write home about. It’s the same playful Marvel as we know it, it doesn’t get darker or rougher in any significant way. The one really interesting thing is the twist with the Mandarin, its ambition is something not very common for Marvel, with some tangible overlap, that is. But it all ends after a couple of sentences, the whole thing is quickly forgotten and plot moves forward to the mandatory and pathetic rescue of the scumbags and the American presidents of the world, with inconsistently explained rules and a bland villain. But it’s pretty good fun, even if some of the jokes are repeated, Stark’s seizures look from another (better) film and the action could be more clear and dynamic. What I liked the most were the retro end credits. 7/10 (05/04/2013)

Kiss Black's ass! If we were to take this part to be an action thriller with elements of crazy comedy, it would make this decent, but not that great goods, but... In the comic waters of Marvel this is a breath of fresh air and a sign of the creators’ brave attempt to push something from inside them into the enclosed universe (which worked best in the playful end credits sequence). That dark odor that seeped from the trailers is, like a good half of the plot, just a charade that is incredibly entertaining, even before the curtains open. The uncompromising Mandarin makes things hot for Tony, who it seems knows fear for the first ever time in his life. Extremis is a gift from the gods and brings so-needed invention into the fights with him (the inferno suit could only perhaps be trumped by a galactic war). Savin (James Badge dale enjoys this role) and his gang bravely resist the metal suits. Guy Pearce (cutely disheveled at the beginning, then stylishly slimy) is overshadowed a little by Sir Ben Kingsley who is unbeatable and towers over all other comic book villains. Robert Downey Jr. shows a slightly different side of Tony Stark, borrowing something from the role of Harry in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which is very refreshing. Mainly taunting the little boy and the terse verbal exchanges with Rhodey (Iron Patriot is here basically as a joke). The action is a little hard to follow, but I’ve seen worse. Saving Air Force One is marvelous, for instance. The half-equipped Tony is marvelous. The finale with the boat, but the suits...not really... In any case, this is a marvelous watch, powerful in dialogs and story. This is just the right direction they should take in phase two. Bring on Thor and the Capo. P.S.: In some places the whole theater (all 3 people) laughed. Potato Gun Mark II. (05/06/2013)

I enjoyed the first part of Iron Man, but at the same time I realized that he’s not going to become my favorite character. Robert Downey Jr. portrays him really well, I’m not saying he doesn’t, but the mixture of opponents, settings and jokes is not something that I grew fond of. I skipped the second movie and all of a sudden I had the chance to watch the third one. There was nothing else on TV so I decided to watch it to enjoy a pleasant blockbuster. I actually watched the movie twice, I wasn’t sure whether I was in the right mood when I watched it for the first time, but even the second time around the movie didn’t really amaze me. The antagonist was actually quite OK, but I simply couldn’t find anything to hold on to that would attract me to the movie. Simply put, I was pretty bored for the entire two hours. You see I believe it’s two hours of an absolutely mediocre movie with good visual effects, which unfortunately are not everything. (01/24/2014)