Iron Man 3 Movie Review

Iron Man 3 is the Marvel Studios film that is the start of Phase 2 and the seventh installment in the MCU directed by Shane Black and released in 2013. First time watching it was fun, and while it is still a fun Iron Man film it has plenty of flaws as Marvel Corporation changed a lot of stuff in the film which is upsetting.

Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark and once again nails it. His character story in the film is deeper it shows this hero with mental health issues. The film also has Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper, Don Cheadle as Rhodey, and Jon Favreau as Happy returning who do great in their roles. It was fun seeing them and their relationships with Tony be explored more. The film also stars Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian, Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen, and Ben Kingsley as "The Mandarin" who wasn't bad in the film, except for one.

The film is about Tony Stark dealing with PTSD from the events of the Avengers film as the Mandarin and his past are coming to haunt and attack him. The film does include great action as it's always fun seeing Iron Man fight. The film also includes a great score as it has a spy hero feel to it. But I liked how this film was important for Tony's arc within the MCU as he is discovering himself and what he needs in life that he is Iron Man, with or without the suit.

However, this film has plenty of flaws. This film got butchered because corporate goons from Marvel didn't think certain things would work and changed things. I didn't like Aldrich Killian. He is easily the worst villain in the MCU as he was just too whiny and had a weird obsession with Pepper. Extremis could have been written better and there should have been closer with the whole Ten Rings storyline as it has been a thing since the first film. I don't hate the Mandarin twist though.

Overall, this just isn't the best Iron Man or Marvel film. It's fun because of RDJ and serves as a good story for Stark but that's it. It's in the bottom 3 of my MCU list.

Rating: 7/10

Grade: C