Walt Disney Studios
130 Minutes, dir. by Shane Black, with Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and Sir Ben Kingsley

Leading up to its U.S. release, I’d seen some highly positive things being written about Iron Man 3. No matter what I read, I always enter a film with no expectations, leaving those tidbits I hear in passing in the back of my mind — but walking out of Iron Man 3, those few glowing quotes and opinions came rushing into my conscious, leaving me with one question: What movie did these people watch? While the action portions of the film were fun and interesting, the rest of Iron Man 3 is a mess of contradictions and yawns.

The alien invasion thwarted by The Avengers is long past, but Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) can’t shake the anxiety and fear that washes over him brought on by the knowledge he gained from that experience. Unable to firmly wrap his head around the existence of gods, aliens, and tripping through a wormhole, Tony spends his days tinkering in his lab. The crime-fighting aspects of his inventions are left in the hands of his friend Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle), whose War Machine suit has been run through a paint job, leaving him now cavorting around as the Iron Patriot.

The world is being held under the menacing thumb of a terrorist madman known only as The Mandarin. When The Mandarin’s newest attack harms someone close to Stark, he decides to return to the crime-fighting game. Entering into a battle with a man he truly doesn’t understand, Stark is soon caught in the heat of a massive confrontation, still unable to get proper control of his nerves, and without the help of the majority of his brilliant creations.

There’s no real way to concisely explain all the problems with Iron Man 3 without ruining every aspect of its faulty story. Having a twist as a main plot point is nothing new in cinema, but it feels like everyone expects one now to make a story worth their time. The makers of Iron Man 3 certainly seem to think so, filling the adventure with not one, not two or three, but four plot twists, with another handful of situational mini-twists thrown in. Most, if not all, are fairly transparent — but the dialogue used to reveal the no-so-clever surprises directly contradict aspects of the other twists within. It is as though the creators of Iron Man 3 simply said, “Give them action and laughs, and hopefully they’ll overlook all the crap in-between.”

In addition to the weak twists and numerous plot holes, the film is boringly long. While it is no longer than most of its counterparts from The Avengers universe, it felt like an eternity from start and finish.

Don’t get me wrong — there are some worthy parts to the film. Downey, Jr. is as fun as ever, taking full advantage of his time spent trading quips with a young kid he seeks aid from, and the action sequences are engaging and playful. Ben Kingsley is also a hoot. Aside from those few portions, though, Iron Man 3 just raises more questions marks than entertainment.

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Matthew Schuchman is the founder and film critic of Movie Reviews From Gene Shalit’s Moustache and a contributor to Den of Geek.