Iron Man III- a 'Stark' disappointment

Robert Downey Jr. is back as the witty crime fighting genius Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. The film is the third and possible final installment of the Iron Man franchise. The film is directed by Shane Black and also stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, and Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodes. Iron Man III centers on Tony Stark’s apparent vulnerability, when a man from Tony’s past resurfaces and destroys Tony’s world, leaving him to strive to rebuild, and fight back before it’s too late.

Robert Downey Jr. is perfect for the role of Tony Stark; he’s funny, brilliant and captivating. He’s a fun, likable character that keeps the audience wanting more. What was enjoyable with this film is the audience finally sees the man Tony really is, suffering from panic attacks, nightmares and loss. RDJ portrays Tony, as an actual human being, which is always nice to see when the entire film is robots, terrorists, and people shooting fire out of their mouths. Paltrow is great as Pepper Potts, her role is quite minor, but she’s fierce especially towards the end of the film. Cheadle delivered a fine performance as well, reprising his role from the second film as Colonel James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes. He’s strong, courageous and also a bit comical, which lightens up some of the film. Ben Kingsley did a fantastic job as The Mandarin; he was funny, a bit over the top and somewhat likable.

Although a big fan of the Iron Man films, Iron Man III unfortunately was a bit of a disappointment. After seeing ‘The Avengers’ which obviously doesn’t compare, all the audience craves is RDJ to kick butt in his iron man suit, which he doesn’t really do. After Tony is thrown to another state, he struggles to create an armor to fight the villain, The Mandarin. The majority of the film is Tony “tinkering” around with low power supplies and the constant frustration with nothing working. Even the ending which most superhero films have a huge fight scene in the end for the audience to root on the good guy to come through, was a let down.

Throughout the film, there were some nice references to the film The Avengers which RDJ starred in portraying the same character. It was nice that what occurred in that film is becoming a full circle in other films, and is actually acknowledged. Even other characters in the film request to know more about The Avengers and what exactly occurred in New York last summer.

In conclusion, Iron Man III is only recommended to people that are true fans of the character and comics, the film is nowhere near the caliber of the previous Iron Man films Jon Favreau directed or the recent superhero flick The Avengers.