1. Too Many Laughs
When Iron Man 3 is not trying to re-invent the wheel or clock up a body count, it is ridiculously funny. Robert Downey Jr has always been perfect as Stark due to his razor sharp wit and callous smugness, and he really hits his stride with Black and co-writer Drew Pearces dialogue. It is a much more aggressive humour than the previous Iron Man films, but one that still sounds perfect coming from Downey Jr. He is to Black what Christoph Waltz is to Tarantino. There are times when the comedic focus plays too long, and some particular plot twists, although highly amusing, only serve to undermine the overall impact of threat. And gaping plots holes are ignored, whilst more obvious ones are re-iterated. One particular example is how the Extremis soldiers are inexplicably paradoxical (their contradictory allegiances are left hanging), whilst in a final fight, The Mandarin who we quite clearly know is The Mandarin tells Stark that he is The Mandarin as if it were some sort of revelation. Sloppy snafus such as these are way beneath everyone involved in this project, and should not be there. As a running start to the phase two mission statement of working towards expanding the Marvel film universe and making an Avengers Assemble sequel, Iron Man 3 is less of a stumble than it is an unfocused sprint.
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