Iron Man 3 Review Round-Up: Mostly Positive But Some Negative

Iron Man 3 screenings for the U.S. press will take place this week, but U.S. based reviews of Iron Man 3 are embargoed until April 29. However, with Iron Man 3 opening in some countries this week, the embargo has apparently been lifted for the international press. Through the magic of the Internet and Google translator, we've rounded up some highlights from international reviews for easy reading. For the most part, the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, but there are also a couple negative reviews that have surfaced. The Guardian gives Iron Man 3 four out of five stars. Peter Bradshaw describes Iron Man 3 as "smart, funny and spectacular." He also praises Robert Downey Jr.'s performance, writing, "Stark now probably succeeds Chaplin as Downey's key creation as an actor, loosing off funny lines with virtuoso skill, throwing away gags and delaying punchlines." MCM Buzz gives a mixed but somewhat negative review of the film. MCM Buzz didn't think Iron Man 3 lived up to the hype of its predecessors. However, they still recommend the film, writing, "As a whole Iron Man 3 is undeniably entertaining, but that didn't stop me from leaving the film feeling a little disappointed and underwhelmed. Despite this I still enjoyed it and would certainly recommend that you go see it." French Premiere Magazine felt the exact opposite of MCM Buzz, calling Iron Man 3 by far the best of the saga. Premiere describes Iron Man 3 as a "spy thriller" and "buddy movie." Premiere praises the film for focusing on the Tony Stark character and giving the movie "a soul." ComicBookMovie gives Iron Man 3 four out of five stars. Mark Cassidy writes, "A very entertaining action comedy, with maybe just a bit too much emphasis on the comedy for my liking. But while not reaching the heights of the first Iron Man, Shane Black's film is a definite improvement on the second. A very good, if not quite great start to Marvel's Phase 2. " The German Blogbusters gives a positive review with some small criticism. Blogbusters calls Iron Man 3 a successful comic book movie sequel. While Blogbusters found the first 30 to 45 minutes of the film boring, they felt like everything came together with a spectacular finale. The French ComicBox praises the film but warns that it's not perfect. ComicBox indicates that Iron Man 3 is better than Iron Man 2 and Thor. ComicBox likes that Pepper Potts has a more rewarding role than the typical dasmel in distress. However, they also note that the film doesn't pretend to be anything more than a blockbuster uninhibited. The Telegraph gives Iron Man 3 four out of five stars. Film critic Robbie Collin has high praise for Ben Kingsley's performance. Collin writes, "Kingsley's Mandarin might be the smartest screen interpretation of a villain since Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight." Time Out London gives Iron Man 3 three out of five stars. Film critic Tom Huddleston writes, "It's undeniably entertaining – and worth seeing for Kingsley alone – with the misfires never fully overshadowing the moments of glory. But in the wake of the triumph of The Avengers, Iron Man 3 still feels like something of a disappointment." The Void claims that Iron Man 3 was built to please. Even though the first ten minutes of the films had them worried, The Void calls Iron Man 3 "the sequel that Iron Man 2 should have been." The BasingStoke Gazette heaps lots of praise on Iron Man 3. Joanne Mace writes, "Not only is Iron Man 3 exciting and full of dream action sequences, it is smart, smart, smart, and will provide you with as many belly laughs as thrills and spills. In that sense, it is a more than worthy successor to Jon Favreau's Iron Man (let's forget Iron Man 2)."