Iron Man 3 (2013)

3/5

Shane Black has breathed new life into the Iron Man franchise after the less than stellar second installment, yet it all seems a little lackluster when it's all taken in. Robert Downey Jr is his usual smart aleck, quirky self and, again, it works well. He is able to carry the film even after, what I believe to be, one of the worst twists in mainstream cinema. All of the series regulars (Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle) to a movie  that makes them much more likeable. Guy Pearce is introduced into the Marvel Universe as Aldrich Killian, a scientist studying a biological research project known as Extremis.

Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr) demons are catching up with him. He has insomnia and in his spare time he makes more and more improvements to his suits. After the incident in New York he has developed a bit of a post traumatic stress disorder. Tony's biggest fear is bringing harm to the ones, or one, he loves.  In other parts of the world a terrorist, known as The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), is wreaking havoc on various targets. After one of The Mandarin's bombs takes out Stark's bodyguard/friend, Happy ("Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2" director, Jon Favreau). Tony vows revenge against the madman and in doing so seals the fates of everyone around him.

 "Iron Man 3" accomplishes a few things needed to get over "Iron Man 2"; It keeps the comedy coming that we got from "The Avengers". It has made the supporting cast not seem so dull. It also made Tony Stark seem more human. He was much more vulnerable in this movie than he has been in the past. All of these things work in the favor of the franchise. I cannot stress enough, however, how disappointing The Mandarin actually is. Ben Kingsley was perfect for the role and did what he could, but this movie didn't appear to want to take itself very seriously. It's possible Shane Black was trying to comment on our culture of fear, but in the end it really falls flat on its face.