I hate how they mixed The Mandarin and Killian into one person. They are two different people.

@csl316: I thought the Whole movie was like the dark knight Rises

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a bit of a letdown. Perhaps my own expectations were just too high, but I expected the film to be far better than it was. I expected, as a possible end to Robert Downey's time as Tony Stark, for this film to top the others, to be one of the best films of the summer, to stand as the pinnacle of superhero movies, needless to say I don't see it as doing any of these things. The trailers made the movie look far better than it was. Let me just list off the problems I personally had with the film:

1. Tone- This movie was all over the place as to what it wanted to be and what it wanted to say. It jumps bounces around like a pinball, from serious and dark, to funny and comical, to Tony's personal issues, to his past and his enemies, to Rhodey, to the Mandarin, to Extremis, to the Five Nightmares, to Sentient Armor, etc. Honestly the angle of the film kept changing and I felt like I was getting whiplash. It tried to do far too much, which led to an unsatisfactory payoff. I didn't care for how Extremis was implemented, the twist with the Mandarin, the villains overall plan, the kid, or the way SO many jokes were brought in to lighten up what should've been a fairly dark film.

2. Man vs Machine- Is the Suit what makes Iron Man or is it the Man inside the Suit? Probably one of the biggest questions when dealing with the character or Tony Stark/Iron Man. Instead of being handled with a bit of depth and subtlety, or in a grandiose fashion with Tony being forced to fight his own armor, the movie has Tony spend most of the movie outside of the armor, simply trying to fix it, while we then see him operate more on his own. It's a decent concept in theory, but could've been handled better, especially when in the original Extremis story the end result lead to Tony becoming more machine and basically admitting his enemy had a point.

3. Mark 42- Do I even need to say how big a letdown it was? Yes, I like to see some interaction between Tony and Pepper, I like to see Tony outside of the suit dealing with his inner demons, but I also like to see him in the suit going toe to toe with the bad guy and kicking butt! Doing what he does best and building the best armor he can for the situation! That didn't happen here. He spent the entire film with the new armor, that was touted as being such a big deal before the release, being nothing more than a glitchy prototype. I understand what the film was trying to do with the whole It's the man inside that matters angle, and while I agree to a point, I think at the end of the day it's always a little ridiculous to act as if the suit doesn't matter just as much. Like with pretty much everything else in this story, it was also used for comedic effect at different times., and while it WAS actually funny, it's not what I wanted to see.

4. PTSD- This was one of the things I was looking forward to most honestly, to see how Tony was handling things after New York, the effect that all of it was taking on his mentality, and it didn't disappoint to be honest. I thought it was done fairly well, and the scene where Tony admits to what's wrong with him at the start was very well done. However, it only went downhill from there with it turning into a bit of a joke with Tony freaking out due to the kids constant questioning, and I don't feel it was ever fully resolved. It just kinda stopped being mentioned.

5. The Mandarin- It was a twist lol I was definitely surprised, but it wasn't a good twist in any way, and it led to the film taking on a more comical tone. Again, I felt this film was set up, destined, to be dark in nature, and the Mandarin was the perfect villain to bring this to fruition. What they did to him took away from that, and really just threw away a lot of potential storytelling now and in the future. It led to the problem I had with the tone of the film, and in the end I feel that Extremis Enhanced Aim Soldiers as the true villain didn't equal what we could've had with The Mandarin. Kingsley's performance up to the reveal however was excellent, and even after I have to still call it what it is: Damn good acting.

6. The Avengers- I didn't expect to see the team in this movie, I didn't want to see the team in this movie, but more than it ever has in the comics I was bothered by the lack of appearance of some members during an event such as this. Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Captain America in particular, as not only are they more..."normal" heroes, with less world shattering powers than the Hulk and Thor, but we've seen during the previous film that Shield is always watching, doing what they can to ensure security, even if it means assigning people to keep a closer eye on a hero with alcohol problems. At the end of the second film we had Black Widow jumping into the fray because Hammer had basically associated with a terrorist, and the lives of numerous people were at stake. Now, the President's life is threatened here, a terrorist is high jacking American television, and Tony Stark is attacked in his own home and believed dead. So, where the hell is Shield when all this is happening? The excuse that the movie can only focus on Tony doesn't hold up anymore due to the last one. Given the fact that he actually is/was a soldier, i'm surprised Steve wasn't taking part in the hunt for the terrorist, or at least even mentioned to be helping out somewhere.

Maybe i'm being a little hard on the film, and a second viewing will increase my opinion of it, but at the moment I can't see it as anything more than a letdown. Not the worst film i've ever seen, not even the worst Super Hero film, and there were actually some parts I like, which leads me to give it a 3/5. Decent, but certainly not the best Iron Man movie.

PS: The Post Credits scene kind of sucked. Funny, but really did the film really need anymore humor?

EDIT

I think that Gregg summed it best in his review:

" If you're searching for a deep story with minimal plot holes, then you'll likely leave the theater disappointed. But if you're looking for hugely entertaining action, an overdose of laughs and a whole lot of fun, then you're going to have a blast."

I really liked this movie but it did have flaws so I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10. What I think brought it down was the way they messed up the Mandarin. I was really excited to see him but they made him a joke. I was alright with Iron Patriot but I felt like the things they actually did with armor were... disrespectful I guess is the best way to put it. Those are the only big things that annoyed me. Otherwise I loved the movie. I liked that they chose to use extremis, all the armors, exploring Tony Stark's character, great humor, a villain that wasn't in an armor, and great action. Like others said, I don't think it's possible to make a perfect or totaslly crowd pleasing superhero movie. So yeah, it had flaws but it was still an awesome movie.

I liked that eventually Aldrich Killian called himself The Mandarin, so we could see him as 'the mandarin' in a future Marvel film. Thinking about it they didnt really show us what happened to him. He just got hit with a pole and was gone.

Also, I try not to give positive or negative critiques on videos unless it's absolutely necessary. But in this case, please know that I love that professional Iron Man 3 backdrop on the whiteboard.

Wow I'm surprised at all the hate for this film. It was probably Marvel's second best movie to date. I'm glad it downplayed most of the comic book elements, because frankly most of them are either terrible and outdated ("the Mandarin is a racist caricature out to take over the world!") or completely irrelevant to the production of a good movie (who outside of comic book readers cares about the specific powers of Tony Stark's 50+ suits?) For the 99% of people who saw this movie without any knowledge of the Iron Man comics, this was a solid A (don't believe me, ask CinemaScore).

@mucklefluga: Just like Dark knight Rises!

I agree with the rating.

I agree with most of what you guys had to say. I think you guys are a little too generous and possibly in denial. The reason I say you seem to be in denial is because clearly you wanted to love this movie(as I did to) but, you guys talked way more about what you hated then what you liked.

Using your ratting scale not including half stars I would give it mmmm 2/5 stars. The first Ironman movie is still the best.

@nathaniel_christopher: Would the President have Armor?

What do you mean?

@nathaniel_christopher: this is the future, there are Aliens, there is ONLY one Armored solider? if there is more wouldn't it stand to reason the the President would have a Armor suit, incase something happened?

The future? How so?

One of the main plot points of the last film was Tony's reluctance to let other people get their hands on his armor. Also, Iron Man's hardly just an armored soldier, and it requires not only a certain amount of capitol to build an Iron Man suit, it also requires a certain amount of intelligence. The only other person in the world known to have the knowledge of the inner workings behind the arc reactor died in the last film, and that doesn't even begin to take into account the other workings of the armor. Unless he took Rody's I don't see how the President would be able to have an armor.

Pretty good film.

@thetimestreamer: You should also remember and take into account that this kid is meeting someone who seems to be one of his heroes and someone who took part in a huge event that occured during his lifetime. Tony intrigues him because of his role in the battle of New York as well as his Iron Man persona. Of course the kid is going to ask him a thousand questions and he wants to help as much as he can because it makes him feel almost like a side kick and a helper.

@nathaniel_christopher: Oh no, i didn't mean Tony, i meant Roads, and didn't they say, AIM was working on his Armor? One for the president, would not have to be a weapon, just something to fly him to his safe house.

Yes presumably AIM helped upgrade it from War Machine to Iron Patriot. That isn't the same as building it however. Justin Hammer upgraded it from Mark II to War Machine, yet he failed to build one time and again.

hmmm Spoilerz* (I guess)

Just going to say that using Mandarin solely to get the comic book fans into the theatre, and to hype up the trailers just felt soooo dirty. Sooo, soo dirty. Think about how much cooler it would have been if Tony fights his way to Mandarin only for Mandarin to kick his azz for a bit with magic, and then just vanish back to china or something.

Then if they do a spin off film they could just say Tony is busy fighting Mandarin in China so War Machine has to do his own thing.

Best Iron Man movie, yes. Did they slip up on a few things, absolutely.

I'll say this about the movie:

For those who only watched the Disney/Marvel movies and don't follow comics AT ALL, this was a slam dunk hit, mostly.

For those of us who actually follow the comics (even for a little), it was almost an insult, particularly with Mandarin. I mean seriously, watch Iron Man 3, then go to his wiki page on this site. You will facepalm.

It was a good film, though I admit that the first half of the film dragged on and was pretty boring. Other than that, the actions scenes were amazing, but there was too many unnecessary comedic scenes that was thrown in the film. Like mostly everyone else, I was disappointed what they did to Mandarin.

I give this movie a 7.5/10.

I enjoyed all 3 movies. Yes I think Iron Man 2 was DOPE. I don't know why everyone dislikes it so much. For me, it was almost better than the 1st. This one was AWEsome as well.

Maybe someone here can help me out with this one.

Near the end of the movie where Tony and Rhodey are fighting on the container ship, Rhodey asks Tony if he can use any of the suits to fight off the Extremis soldiers. Tony says no, that they're specifically designed for himself, forcing Rhodey to run around dodging bullets and having to save the president/Iron Patriot armor on his own. However, right at the end of the Tony-Killian fight Pepper jumps out of the fire, kicks, what appears to be, a piercing armor bullet at Killian, then uses Tony's repulsor arm cannon to detonate the bullet, thus killing Killian.

Does this mean that the suits are specifically made for himself and Pepper (specific bio-signatures?), or does Tony simply want to be the only ones that uses his own suits (i.e., doesn't want to share his toys)? I know there's a scene at the beginning where Tony sends the new Mk.47 to save Pepper when the helicopters attack, but I wonder if this "suit sharing" is alluding to Pepper becoming "Rescue" in the next installment.

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On a separate note, I agree that the movie felt like a 7-7.5/10 for me. However, because there was so much going on, I'm going to watch it again to take in whatever I had missed originally (massive armor fight). Do I think it was the best Iron Man movie? No, but it was of a different caliber following the Avengers lead. I might even have to watch the Avengers movie before seeing this again just to put the transition in to a better perspective.

Loved the review banter. Can't wait to get more feedback from you guys once you see it again!

I really enjoyed the movie. My favorite of the three. I think a 4/5 is a great review score that I agree with.

I liked the movie as a whole. The Mandarin twist took me out of the film for a good 20 minutes but in the end i believe it was used well. I love the fact that the took him out of the suit. we had three movies of Iron Man now we have a Tony Stark movie. It gave the whole interpretation that Tony is Iron Man not Iron Man is Tony Stark.

could of been a complete coincidence but wasnt it too ironic that when stark blows up the girl in the diner with the microwave and protects himself with the freezer door kind of a foreshadow or easter egg towards captain americas the winter soldier? after all he held the door after the explosion for quite some time like cap would his shield then caught himself like what the heck was i doing that for. plus its holiday season cold wether and he puts in the dog tags in the microwave. may be by total accident but that whole incident after totally screamed captain america winter soldier, but thats just me. anyone let me know what you think?

2.5 - 3 out of 5 for me. The dealbreaker for this whole movie in my opinion was what they did with The Mandarin. All the other hokey stuff (i.e. the kid for instance), I had no problem with and would easily have overlooked it and still called it a fantastic film if not for that particular flop. Call me nitpicky but that was a huge "WTF" moment for me that just didn't make any sense. If they were going to make the Mandarin an idea instead of an actual person and use an actor to do the guise like a terrorist, then what was even the point of having him there? And Aldrich Killian saying that "he was the Mandarin" the whole time just doesn't suffice to me. No, Mandarin for this movie was nothing more than a terrible bait and switch, because I really really wanted him in the film here. I mean, without that or the Ten Rings, then what connection does this even have to Avengers 2 and future movies? Seriously...this movie is the "Dark Knight Rises" for the Iron Man film franchise.

From my watch of the film I took Tony saying that as a joke personally, especially when as you noted Pepper used the suit a few moments later, had used the suit earlier in the movie, and Rhodey himself uses an upgraded copy of the Mark 2.

I have to say I was let down. Was expecting the PDTS to be part of the final battle something that almost get him killed. I have to say as little as he was in it I think Rhodey had some of the best dialog. I thought it was awesome when they were trying to remove the armor and he says "Alright lets go." and immediately jumps out of the armor and punches Savin in the face. He was also funny, his humor didn't seem forced like Trevor's. I loved "WARMACHINEROX". That was funny.

I completely agree.

Personally I don't know if Marvel purposely screws up these movies to lower expectations for future movies or if they honestly think this is quality material. This movie was better than Iron Man 2, but worse than Iron Man 1.

The biggest disappointment was that there was no real "Big Bad" in the movie. We had AIM and the Mandarin, but the movie never really developed AIM and the Mandarin isn't even really the Mandarin, literally. The trailer leads one to believe that the Mandarin was going to be Stark's greatest foe, but instead he turns out to be a big nobody. It's sad because I really liked this terrorist version of the Mandarin. I was expecting to see something on par with Loki or Red Skull. A real Marvel villain. I would have prefered the chinese sorcerer, but this terrorist version of the Mandarin still had a lot of potential, but even that amounted to nothing. The concept of the AIM think tank could have been really awesome, but instead we get two superficial characters who represent the entire group. They should have developed the think tank more thoroughly.

I did like the way they developed the Extremis concept. I also liked Pepper's and Stark's romance. Don Cheadle did a much better job as Rhodey. I'm glad that he got some action scenes in, but I wish we got a chance to see him really kickass in his Iron Patriot suit. The barrage of Iron Man suits was a welcome twist. It just pisses me off that Stark destroys all his suits at the end of the movie.

I really thought the kid was unnecessary. If they really need to add a kid to the movie then they should have added someone from the comics. The kids acting wasn't bad, but his placement felt forced. His presence was part of the reason the movie was derailed.

I hated the scenes with Happy Hogan. The acting was terrible and irritated the hell out of me. When he got hit by the bomb I was hoping that he died and was disappointed that he was just wounded. I mean after Daredevil, you'd think Marvel would have the common sense to keep Favreau away from acting on the big screen.

I thought the movie was good. Nothing memorable or anything.

It was just a funny, action movie.

Way better than the 2nd movie but I still think the 1st Iron Man was better.

Overall, I give this movie a 3 out of 5.

@red_robin212:that's what my bro said lol, exactly

Hey Tony (@g_man) I don't think your realizing the kid was meant to bring the "invulnerability" out of Tony Stark/Iron Man. Please watch the movie and again and you will see that he his trying to humanize him. I honestly don't think they would be able to do that without a kid. You should know since you having a child, they sometimes make us invulnerable, sort of broken and make us realize we aren't so perfect as we think we are. So, I don't think Disney or the film was try to "advertise" anything for kids to go see.

I tend to agree with Norm here, I'd say the first film is the best out of the trilogy then closely followed by 3. I really enjoyed it (much more than 2) I thought the typical RDJ comedy was great, the Mandarin twist was hilarious if not very taboo but I like the the filmmakers weren't afraid to mix things up like that. No one saw it coming (no pun intended) and I think it worked.

It would have been nice to see more of War Machine and I'd love for a standalone film to be made for the character as he has always been one of my favourites and my first ever complete comic book series I brought was War Machine. I think he'd make a great replacement should RDJ not sign on to any future projects.

In all, great film, some fantastic moments and plenty of action.

I agree as well. #1 was best, followed by #3, then #2. While I didn't care for the twist with Mandarin, I didn't mind it either. We knew going in the main arc was around Extremis, which is an arc I loved. So, it did ok with that. The Mandarin was more of a distraction for me than anything else. I know I'm biased though because I never cared for Mandarin when I was more prevalent in the comic.