POSITIVES:

1) The direction was very good, there are lots of extended takes and long unbroken shots which I thought worked very well 2) The scene in which Tony watches the old tape of his father, and realises that his father did actually love him, worked incredibly well emotionally for me 3) The relationships in the film are explored very well; in particular Tony's relationships with Pepper and Rhodey are fleshed out very well I thought. All the times in which the film works best are when it is exploring the characters and their feelings

NEGATIVES:

1) Neither Sam Rockwell or Mickey Rourke work as villains for me. They're both too unbelievable in their roles. Especially Mickey Rourke as one of the world's greatest physicists is just laughable. Seeing him at the end in his armoured Whiplash suit looked terrible 2) Having read the stories of John Favreau fighting with Marvel about having to put Nick Fury and the Avengers' references into the film, it does stick out like a sore thumb that these scenes don't fit with the rest of the film 3) Tony Stark is very unlikable at multiple points throughout the film. I understand that that is kinda the point, but he was so unlikable that when he was meant to be redeeming himself it just didn't work for me.

4) There are multiple points in the film where I just thought it seemed very dated and naff.