Iron Man 3 Preview: What The Critics Said

Sadly, we weren't among the lucky few who attended a screening of preview footage for Iron Man 3 yesterday. We were doing other far less interesting and enjoyable things.

But, we do know plenty of people who did get to see Tony Stark under fire as Disney and Marvel showcased 20 minutes of footage from Robert Downey Jr's latest big screen outing as the Armoured Avenger.

Here's what they had to say:

**WARNING: This is a report about a preview screening of footage from a film that hasn't been released yet. Therefore, it contains spoilers. Look away now if you don't want to be spoiled!**

Digital Spy
"Shane Black may be a relative rookie when its comes to directing, but you wouldn't know if from the set pieces on display here. The helicopter assault on Tony's cliffside home pretty much tops anything we've seen before in the Iron Man films - yes, even that incredible Monte Carlo sequence from Iron Man 2."

Bleeding Cool
"We’ve seen shots of Tony’s home getting attacked. We’ve seen Tony summoning his new Mark Forty-Two armour. What we haven’t seen until now is, as his home is blown to smithereens, him summoning his armour to assemble… around Pepper Potts and not him. Squee number one. Squee number two is, as debris threatens to flatten Tony, for armoured-up Pepper to rush in and protect Tony’s prone body. With an 'I got you.' / 'I got you first' exchange."

Total Film
"Despite all of the ominous overtones and scenes of mass destruction, the main thing we took away from the screening was the fact that Iron Man 3 will actually be funny. Very funny. The early trailers led naysayers to believe that Iron Man 3 was ‘going dark’ in the vein of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films. Suffice to say, the footage we saw was packed with Stark’s trademark quippage: from his banter with Potts and Hansen inside his (pre-destruction) home, to his searing putdown of the kid in the cabin ('Dads leave - there’s no need to be a pussy about it…'). The result? There were more gags than explosions. Just."

Yahoo Movies
"Now that Stark and Pepper Potts are finally an item, Downey Jr. and Paltrow will have a good time playing the bickering lovebirds. Before the attack, they are shown good-naturedly arguing in the shadow of an enormous bunny with breasts (a Christmas present, apparently) and it’s clear their relationship will propel this film. The two actors have great chemistry already, and hopefully they’ll have lots of screen time together."

By Odin, we're looking forward to this film. 

And more Iron Man treats come in the shape of new armour reveals.  Following the sneak peek at Silver Centurion and Shotgun earlier this week, we now meet the Mark 17, 'Heartbreaker', and the fearsome looking Mark 38, 'Igor'.

We expect more will be revealed in the coming days…

Iron Man 3 will be released on April 26 in the UK, and May 3 in the US.