'Iron Man 3' Review: Action, Laughs, Cliches and Spoilers

Stop - in the name of glove!

"Iron Man 3," to answer what is probably your first question, is better than "Iron Man 2," although not as good as the original.

When it comes to action, the filmmakers obviously know what they are doing. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) flies across the screen in several different stylings of his Iron Man armor. It's a good thing he has many spare suits, because they take a beating through the course of the movie.

Stark's sense of humor - one of the traits that separates him from his fellow superheroes - again lightens the mood, although not always appropriately. Still, it's hard to imagine anyone other than Downey telling a small boy whose family was abandoned by his father, "Dads leave. No need to be such a pussy about it."

Ben Kingsley, as the Mandarin, delivers a top-notch performance that touches closely on our worst fears about terrorism on American soil. I have to give him credit because I had my doubts about the character. Make no mistake about it - he makes the Mandarin seem as evil as Osama bin Laden. Gwyneth Paltrow admirably returns as Pepper Potts with some actual acting scenes. Happy (Jon Favreau) Hogan spends much of the movie in a coma - a good thing, from my point of view. Don Cheadle is back as War Machine/Iron Patriot (or, more accurately, Iron Man Lite).

If you liked either of the first two movies, you are guaranteed to enjoy "Iron Man 3."

So why did I hate it? (Spoilers after jump.)




Cliches.

Number 1: After being badly beaten by the Mandarin's henchmen and having his mansion destroyed, Tony Stark crash lands and is all alone. That is, until he meets a precocious 10-year-old boy who just happens to have a workshop where Stark can start putting the pieces back together (both literally and figuratively, because his mental state is banged up just as badly as his armor). A 10-year-old? Really? We've seen this way too many times before and it doesn't work here.

Number 2: Stark, in taking on the bad guys, ends up suitless in The Big Fight Scene. Just as it looks like Tony is about to lose his life, Pepper comes to the rescue, having been chemically enhanced by the villains - don't ask - so that she has super powers herself. The girlfriend saves the day? Actually, I can live with that. But did they have to make her Super Pepper to do it?

Who wears the iron pants in this family, anyway?

Speaking of which, where are the other Avengers? The nation is under attack, the lives of our highest elected officials are in danger, and Tony never thinks to call Captain America? Or Thor? Or Hawkeye? Or Black Widow? Or the Hulk? Or even Spider-Man, for that matter? We've established that they share the same universe, so where are they? We need some sort of explanation.

Also bothersome is a major plot twist - that there is no Mandarin. He is, in fact, a drugged-out actor portraying the role of a terrorist on camera for the real villain behind the scenes, Aldrich Killian, played by Guy Pearce. Killian and Stark have a history, of course. It's hard to imagine a character as smart as Killian putting so much of the success of his terrorist plot in the hands of an oblivious drug addict.

Again, chances are good that the vast majority of people are going to welcome the first super hero blockbuster of the season. If friends ask me to tag along, I might even see it again (right, that make no sense), maybe just to debate its merits afterward. For me, though, I just couldn't get past what I saw as some major weaknesses that also happen to be pet peeves. They spoiled the experience for me. Based on the first two movies, I was expecting more imagination from the plot.

In case you are wondering - yes, there is a bonus scene at the end of the credits. It's worth watching for a special guest appearance by ... well, that's one spoiler that you won't read here.