Iron Man 3 - 8/10
While not as good as the first movie, I still found it to be a strong finish to a trilogy and a great potential send-off for Robert Downy Jr. as the role of Tony Stark. The movie was a lot darker than the previous two films, and some of the humor seems a little out of place. It was still funny, but I couldn't help but think that it was just an odd place to pull a joke. It's as if the movie itself was being as snarky as the character of Tony Stark.
I'll admit, I never cared about The Mandarin in the comics, so I didn't mind how he was portrayed in the movie. In fact, I actually found it rather amusing. The action in this film is amazing and I especially liked the parts where Tony had to make due without his armor and show-off just how much of a genius he really is. I was also fond of how this movie acknowledges (and references) the events that happened in The Avengers and took that as a cue to let loose with the strange shit (i.e. the Extremis Virus).
The films strong-suit seemed to be the personal growth that Tony goes through as the plot unfolds. From starting out as a wreck, prone to panic attacks to
destroying all of the Iron Man suits and finally having the last of the shrapnel removed from his chest.
By the time the movie ends, you can actually tell that something has changed in him, which left me all the more eager for The Avengers 2 to come around.
I heard a lot of complaining about how there's no Iron Man in Iron Man 3. But remember, this isn't like The Dark Knight Rises where the movie was lacking Batman, because Tony Stark IS Iron Man. He doesn't have a secret identity, he just wears the suit when he's working. At this point, the armor is more akin to a company car than a guise. All in all, I thought it was a great film. By no means perfect, but it was definitely an enjoyable flick.