“Iron Man 3”: Semi-Comedy

For a man who has threatened a major-league terrorist, Tony Stark—a.k.a. Iron Man—certainly leaves his house unprepared for the savage aerial attack that constitutes Iron Man 3‘s first large-scale action sequence.  Where are the robotic guns?  It should be understood, though, that the movie’s narrative is fundamentally for children.  Everything else, I would say, is for grownups as well as children, which is good news.  Shane Black’s film is faulty but fun, a relentlessly commercial family pic (made by Marvel/Disney—again, relentlessly commercial).  Predictably, Robert Downey Jr. is unerring in the title role.  The one-liners he spouts are only part, albeit the most important part, of what makes IM3 a semi-comedy.  Guy Pearce and Sir Ben Kingsley can also be funny.  The film is close to being a laugh-fest with explosions.

Another thing:  there may be a mini-message in the film—terrorists are invariably ULTRA-villains (Guy Pearce, this means you).