Iron Man 3 (2013) Review 

So next on my MCU watching list is Iron Man 3 which is also the first film in Phase 2 and set in a post Avengers world, I re-watched it today and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees Tony Stark struggling after the events of The Avengers, when a new terrorist threat comes to threaten him and his life. 

Main Character

Robert Downey Jnr is legendary as the character of Tony Stark and this is a really great performance that shows the complexity and pain that the character has gone through over the films. He still keeps the cocky and charismatic personality but there is some real struggle here and a mature story told here and Downey gives some great scenes which sees a real development in Stark as a character. 

Supporting Characters

Gwyneth Paltrow is back as Pepper Potts and I still think her and Downey Jnr have one of the better romances in the MCU and it is handled pretty well here. She doesn't actually have that much screen time in the film but when she is on screen I think she does a decent job in the film. Don Cheadle is back as Rhodey and again he doesn't have a huge amount of screen time but he plays an effective part of the film and the story and is a fun part of the film. I've always thought him and Downey Jnr have good chemistry together and that is further emphasised here. Sir Ben Kingsley plays The Mandarin and he is superb, he plays a real chilling and sinister bad guy that draws you in and makes you want to know more and see a great showdown between him and Iron Man. But this film does take some missteps in terms of the cast, Guy Pearce plays Aldrich Killian and he is one of the more dull characters in the MCU and it wastes Pearce into this pretty generic antagonist that feels like a weak element of the film. Rebecca Hall is also a great actress and she is wasted here, she is a one note character which could have been played by anybody. If you believe what hall says she was meant to have a larger role in the film but Marvel changed their mind and it makes her part in the film feel a bit strange and out of place. 

Story 

The story does some things well, the greater focus on Tony Stark's PTSD and personal issues make this a more in depth story and character study that feels natural for the state that the character is in at this point in The MCU. But this film does misfire in terms of its overall plot, I mean there is a huge twist here that for me sends the film on a downwards spiral, I feel like how much you like this film relies on how you feel about the twist. There are other elements of the plot that aren't that great and it definitely comes out the further the film progresses. 

Script

The script is pretty good, in terms of dialogue it is pretty top notch. There is some decent humour put in here and the drama is ramped up for this film, especially for Stark. The issue is the plot when it doesn't focus on Tony is poorly written and so are some of the characters and I think that is where the film falters a bit for me. 

Style 

The film looks great, the visuals for this film are truly fantastic, there are a few sequences towards the end of the film that are large on scale and the film does a great job of showing that. But the film does have a bit of a pacing issue, the film isn't that long but it feels much longer and I think that is due to a pretty slow first act that makes the film take time to get going. 

Overall

Overall, this is an above average third film that does some things right but also does some things wrong. I think it is slightly better then Iron Man 2 but nowhere near the level of the first film. It continues Tony Starks journey well but has too much around it that doesn't work, I would say only big superhero fans are gonna really care for this one. 

Rating - 6/10