Iron Man 3

Anyone who knows me knows I love Marvel movies. After the Avengers, I couldn't imagine a film topping it. Not to mention that Iron Man and Captain America are two additionally brilliant additions to the superhero film genre that continues to be tired, with these exceptions. I was in constant excitement for Iron Man 3, possibly the final stand-alone Iron Man movie for my man and man-crush, Robert Downey Jr.

And sadly, it wasn't a total success.

Don't get me wrong, this film is a pretty darn good movie, and I'll be sure to add it to my Marvel Cinematic Universe Collection. And it was better than Iron Man 2. But the hype Joss Whedon gave it after seeing it and declaring he had no idea how to top it, I was pretty damn pumped for the premier.

Positives first - this had some pretty great dialogue, some great new character introductions, and an amazing final scene, as well as a pretty hilarious reveal of the villain. The music was better than the previous installments, I loved Downey Jr. as always, and I really liked the perfect balance of Batman-esque seriousness and character with the consistent humor and sarcasm of the previous Marvel movies.

But...yeah, there's gotta be a but...for all of it's brilliance, it left out some pretty big questions. The biggest being, why couldn't the Avengers have been there to help him? That was a question that I always asked but left up to the creators to answer. I guess I gave too much trust, because even though Thor was in another dimension and Banner was on the run, there was no reason that Hawk Eye, Natasha, and Cap couldn't have come in to help. And considering this was an international terrorist, it again leaves me wondering why the government wouldn't get more involved.

The other problem was the lack of driving action or drama that kept the other movies afloat. The movie let us accept that Downey, Jr. was struggling emotionally, but a lot of it felt forgotten by the second half of the movie. By that point, it became a bit of a confusing story (was Rebecca Hall supposed to be good...?) with a lot of impressive action but not much substance beyond that. Maybe that would work fine for any other blockbuster, but not in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

That being said, it's still good. But it's kindof the Brave from Pixar of Iron Man movies. Luckily, it's still better than Iron Man 2, Thor, and The Incredible Hulk.

Rank - 3.5/5