Other than strictly fan service, I couldn’t find any real reasons for War Machine to come to be the Iron Patriot, and sadly he is under-utilized in this picture. At least Don Cheadle seemed to be enjoying himself in the role. It all leads to a final confrontation with a bunch of remote piloted armors taking on a mass of enhanced soldiers. Again, the problem with this is we never understand the full capacities of either, so the end battle feels more spectacle than significant. Probably the most problematic, was the demise of one of movies major bad guys. It seems that this villain is so unstoppable even blowing him to itty-bits won’t stop him… unless you blow him up a second time, which will do the trick, WTF?!

**End spoilers**

That’s not to say that the film is devoid of any entertainment value. The performances by Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Kinglsey are as good as you can get and really carried the flick. The dialogue is often amusing and the overall pacing strikes a decent balance and the visual effects are sharp as always. I even enjoyed the post-credits scene; don’t forget to stick around for that. It’s one of the most amusing after credit scenes to date.

It’s not that Iron Man 3 is terrible it certainly entertains; it just doesn’t entertain on the same level we have come to expect from the previous Iron Man films. I guess in the end, Iron Man 3 is simply a victim of the franchises own success.

Final rating: 3 Stars (out of 5)

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