"Iron Man 3" comes out in a little over a week and the reviews have started pouring in for the first major blockbuster of the summer.
The Guardian gave the film four out of five stars and marveled at the action sequences and director Shane Black's comic touches to the major franchise. The publication favored the performances but highlighted Gwyneth Paltrow's turn as Pepper Potts as an "excellent, relaxed performance making me wish she spent more time on film sets and less with her nutritional website"
The publication concluded that the third installment in the franchise was "smart, funny and spectacular - I particularly liked Stark's brutally unsentimental reaction to the news that a kid who is helping him is missing his errant dad. 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 punch lines."
The Basingstoke Gazette was equally complimentary and noted "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)."
The publication also clamored about lead Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role and remarked that he "is utter perfection as ever, particularly when nicely souring the saccharine - the potential cheesiness of the child-centred side plot - and delivering the script's sarcasm and wit."
"Iron Man 3" also stars Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and Ben Kingsley.
The film releases on May 3, 2013.