Iron Man 3 (2013)

Rating: 3/5

I'm sure that to its wide loyal fanbase, Iron Man 3 will be a masterpiece, and exactly what they've all been waiting for. It sees the return of the action-packed Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, and is full of his witty one-liners and some really fantastic special effects. As a Marvel superhero action movie, it works very well, with Stark's self-aware cynicism bringing a funny contemporary ring to it. Of course, it won't appeal to everybody, and it lacks certain qualities that may bring in a wider audience.

Carrying on somewhat from The Avengers, Stark is not sleeping, not communicating well with his gal Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) and spends all his time obsessing over new Iron Man suits in his basement. A suspiciously untraceable terrorist known as The Mandarin has started launching attacks, and when Tony's friend and former guard Happy gets caught in one of them, a furious Stark publicly challenges The Mandarin, and gives out his home address for one-on-one "good old-fashioned revenge."

Shockingly, a colossal storm of armed helicopters swoop down and obliterate the mansion that 'luxurious' doesn't even begin to describe. In the background of all the destruction, a scientific genius one night stand of Stark's shows up, claiming her boss Aldrich Killian - who we previously saw Tony fob off over investment for an amazing new discovery - is working for The Mandarin. The amazing new discovery is being used for the latest deadly semi-human Bad Guys, facing our hero with villains which are a little too reminiscent of T-1000 (watch for a particular shot of one emerging from a burning wreck - it's uncanny.)

But before any more can be discovered, the carnage manages to separate Tony and Pepper by several thousand miles. He finds himself out in the snows of Tennessee, instantly taken in by a typically cocky and precocious kid, who despite a lifetime of living in the area talks with a squeaky-clean California child star accent.

From here, Stark tries to work his way back to save Pepper, and the President, and probably the world, all without the benefit of his space-age gadgets. Luckily, the electromagnet installed in his chest gives him some kind of remote control over his Iron Man suit, and its several successors. He sets off on a rampage of explosions,  chases and brow-furrowed concentration, and the entertainment value lies entirely with Downey Jr.

Stark is a bold, solemn and arrogant character, and these almost lifelike portrayals may well be what saved Downey Jr.'s career after his string of drug-fuelled parties and arrests. He is entertaining, suave and as non-phony as such a ridiculous character can be. Every other role, and therefore every other performance, is incidental, typical and wooden.

What bothered me about Iron Man 3 was that I really didn't care about the characters. Whereas the earlier Tobey MacGuire Spiderman series showed humble, likable people who I sympathised with, none of those in Iron Man were particularly engaging. I couldn't care less about Pepper and Tony's little domestic disputes, or the latter's panic attacks, because there was nothing very real about it. Everybody was just in it for the superheroes and action sequences.

Iron Man 3 was good. I'm sure my teenage brothers will love it; it offers great CGI and witty dialogue from Downey Jr., but from the perspective of a general film lover, it was just good.