Iron Man 3

The success and popularity of Iron Man 3 hinges solely on how much one likes/tolerates Robert Downey Jr. The movie served to answer the famed question asked in the much superior "The Avengers" by Captain America: Who/What is Tony Stark without his suit? Honestly, taking RDJ our of the equation, the best things about this movie is: Jarvis, Guy Pearce, Gwnyeth Paltrow's abs, the penultimate air sequence and the post end credits scene (that was THE BEST scene of the whole movie!). Marvel relied too heavily on RDJ and his schtick/too-smart-for-his-own-good-ad-libbing which is distracting tonally, but then again the script by Shane Black and Drew Pearce is nothing spectacular. The characters were all written flat, the plot predictable, loop holes plentifully distracting and the humor's juvenile. It lacked wit (oh, how I miss Whedon!), a real heart and a clear reason for us to care about the character. RDJ tries but he just end up hammy. And of course we have the boring, plodding and messy direction of Shane Black to content with. The action sequences were choreographed badly and shot messily. He never really could bring the audience up to a climax that makes you want to cheer the protagonist on. Save for the penultimate air sequence which was very well-done, but unfortunately wrapped up in a face-palm moment. However, by that time in the show, this oft repeated stunt of punctuating every serious moment with a comic gag has already become tiresome and plainly annoying. The villains were the best characters because Pearce, Ben Kingsley (scene-stealer!) and James Badge Dale gamely embraced their cheesiness and just be evil/silly. Pearce had one scene which was spectacular and really deserved to be further highlighted by Black - a real money shot - but it never happened again. Now, a snark by Stark about that would have been comic gold. Pity. Paltrow had a meatier role here but Pepper's resolution at the end was handled too quickly and abruptly. A wasted arc for an Oscar winner (still contentious!). As for RDJ, nothing much to say about him here other than he has yet to define any character he has acted away from Tony Stark which, he has frequently admitted, is based on himself. He tries for seriousness, especially when relating to the events in "The Avengers", but it just comes off as all wrong, and woefully pathetic. If you liked him, there's more of the usual him here; if not a fan of him the show offers little much else. Marvel fans should not expect much Easter eggs or crossovers here. Brian Tyler's score is rousing at times, but unmemorable.