Iron Man 3

The biggest, baddest and funniest super hero in movies today is back as Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, and he’s a little messed up after everything that happened in The Avengers.

Making matters worse, a terrorist known as The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) is spreading fear across the globe with heinous attacks, and after The Mandarin hurts someone near and dear to Tony Stark, our hero decides it’s time to get revenge, because this time it’s personal.

Iron Man 3 is a good movie made VERY good by a last act that saves it, but leaves us wondering if the Iron Man series has run out of juice.

Writer/director Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce have trouble getting beyond the basics with so many characters to explore and so many stories to establish, and too many attempts at comedy. We are interested in Tony’s struggles after the shocking experience he went through during The Avengers, but it never gets fully explored or influences many of the decisions he makes.

Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) plays a big role in the film, which is great since Don Cheadle is a fantastic actor, but he just feels like a second rate Iron Man, instead of an equal, or buddy. We get to see some interaction between the two, which helps the last third of Iron Man 3, but more would have been better, since I like them together.

They even found something for Gwyneth Paltrow to do in this movie! Pepper Potts has a plot in Iron Man 3, and we are all grateful for that because it gave Paltrow less time to prattle on and on on her blog (maybe we need a Pepper Potts movie to save us from the pontifications of The Goop). However, Tony and Pepper are going through some troubles that never evolve beyond anything more than the typical marital strife that would be lightly featured in a 1950’s sit-com.

Yet, it all comes together in a big climactic action sequence that takes the movie into overdrive, along with a few surprises to wow you. That last act of Iron Man 3 absolutely is exciting and everything you dreamed of for the film. It kicks off the summer movie season at such a high level, it may be hard for any movie to match it.

And, leading up to that part of Iron Man 3, Downey is the reason you keep watching the film. Tony Stark is stripped of everything and everybody in his life as he needs to take on his greatest foe without his usual gadgets and technology, which gives Downey a chance to remind us what we like about Tony Stark, and not just Iron Man.

But, it’s time for it all to end. Robert Downey Jr. needs to walk away. Sure, he might want to show up in The Avengers sequel, but the Iron Man series has nowhere to go from here, and he should leave while on top, especially when I am waiting for the rest of the Avengers to show up anytime Iron Man is in trouble.

It’s a problem with the whole Avengers universe to have them separated at this point without any explanation. They’re a team, and you expect the team to come together when one is in dire straits.

Iron Man 3 should be the end because three’s a charm, not four.

Iron Man 3 is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content.