Iron Man 3 - Babes with Big Bombs are the Best

Since this is the third installment of the Iron Man franchise we know the characters. Robert Downey Jr. still has his swagger and wise cracks. Gwyneth Paltrow looks a bit more corporate but still impeccably appointed (I think she is taller). Don Cheadle has been upgraded with his own Iron Man suit. Jon Favreau does not direct this film but he brings back his role as Happy Hogan. He is no longer the chauffeur but is head of security at the Stark building with a badge fetish. He has a minor role but he brings good humor.  

      

The main villain is the Mandarin, played with much relish by Sir Ben Kingsley. He looks like a ghetto version of Emperor Ming from Flash Gordon. He has a non-descript Western accent (so sorry Charlie Chan) which does not go with the outfit.  Guy Pierce is a bio chemist industrialist whose products are dubious. He has great hair but a real hot head. There is also a young kid, Ty Simpkins, who becomes Downey’s sidekick and is a bit of a mechanical prodigy himself. From their performances it is obvious that these actors had a lot of fun doing the movie. Their joy will grow as the box office soars.

As expected there is a lot of action. There are explosions, assassinations and destruction from the Mandarin. In this movie there is not one Iron Man but a whole score of them (robots for the most part). Even Paltrow suits up; she looks like an extra from Tron.  In many scenes Tony is not in his suit and to fight the bad guys he improvises weapons from Home Depot. Most of the action involved fighting, with and without suits. There was an amazing aerial stunt that was quite impressive.

The script is simple. Its purpose is to manage the mayhem. There is not much plot development. The focus is on the bad guy and his unique weapon and Tony trying to stop him (I hope I did not give too much away). There is one sub plot so poorly woven into the script that it looks like a cheap patch. Action movies can be kinetic and also have a rich story like the Dark Knight or Star Trek (the movie).

Should you see it; sure. Since this is a guy movie plots are no obstacles as long as there are guns, babes and bombs (babes with big bombs are the best). Since this movie is critic proof I am sure my words just bounced off Iron Man. I might mellow by Iron Man 4.