8 Good Films One Crippling Flaw Away From Being Awesome

8. Iron Man 3

The Flaw: No Iron Man Iron Man 3 was a commercial success, plundering the box office to the tune of $1.2bn, but many fans were left feeling as empty as a remote controlled suit by the time the credits rolled. The film lacked something and that something was its titular character. It could have been mind-blowingly good, and the trailer promised us as much. Vendettas, The Mandarin, revenge, an angry Tony Stark and 30 Iron Men kicking some serious behind in the climatic showdown. What we got instead was 135 minutes of Tony Stark pretty much not being Iron Man even a little bit. Shane Black's film attempts to lift the iron visor on Stark as a character and for this he should be lauded: it is totally acceptable to try and develop a character further, to delve into their subconscious to try and find out what makes them tick. The problem is Tony Stark is not Bruce Wayne. There is no real darkness in Stark's past that we can relate to or that is interesting enough to be developed for over two hours. As watchable as Downey Jnr is, Tony Stark is at his best when he is inside the suit flying around, quipping and saving the day. You fell out of a giant space hole. So what? The Hulk caught you. Now stop moping about in small town America, get your suit on and shoot a rocket into molten Guy Pearce's face. No? Ok, we'll just let a supernova Paltrow save the day instead...