Movie Review - Iron Man 3

I didn't enjoy Iron Man.  I don't remember Iron Man 2, mostly because I don't want to remember, but it doesn't matter. All you need to have seen is Marvel's The Avengers. This movie follows Iron Man's near death experience in that film in the wake of New York City's near destruction. Yet, none of that even matters. I didn't get the bearing that had on Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey, Jr. I didn't get the bearing it had at all here. The villains as well have not much bearing. The screenplay by Drew Pearce and Shane Black tries to be clever, but the plot and the motivations by the end felt generic and stale.

The movie also reaches a tipping point. It's revealed that Tony Stark doesn't have to be in the Iron Man suit in order to control it. He has multiple Iron Man suits that can be operated by remote control. With his artificial intelligence called Jarvis, Stark doesn't have to do anything. If he's ever in trouble, the suit comes to him and can do so in pieces. That takes away a lot of stakes and a lot of the emotional connection to the character. Jarvis seems to exist in the clouds, so even he is never truly in danger.

The barrel of monkeys at 11,000 feet in the air was a great scene. It was actually an amazing, action sequence, but that's it. It featured great, skydiving stunts along with seamless CGI, but it wasn't worth the bother.

Two Stars out of Five.
Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 10 mins.