Iron Man 3

"I hope I can protect the one thing I can't live without."

After teaming up with the Avengers in New York, saving the world, and falling through a wormhole, Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) can’t sleep.  All of his time is spent working on his Iron Man suits.  His girlfriend, Pepper Potts (Paltrow), runs Stark Enterprises.  She is approached by scientist Aldrich Killian (Pearce) with new technology, but she passes on the offer.  Her head of security, Happy Hogan (Favreau), thinks something shady is happening and follows Killian's collaborator, Eric Savin (Badge Dale), and is severely injured.

The attack is claimed by terrorist The Mandarin (Kingsley), and Stark is furious.  When he is confronted by reports, Stark issues a challenge to the Mandarin and even gives out his home address.  Later that day he is visited by an old flame, Dr. Maya Hansen (Hall), who has a warning... but it comes too late, when Stark's mansion is destroyed, and he is believed dead.  Can he rebuild his life with only his ingenuity and instincts, and still protect the people he holds dear?

After the overwhelming success of The Avengers, Marvel Studios unveiled the next stage of their plans, called Phase 2.  Like Phase 1, the first film featured Iron Man, followed by Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  Then they will introduce The Guardians of the Galaxy and end Phase 2 with The Avengers 2 and Ant-Man in 2015.  Phase 1 was a success, and makes the new plan seem like an obvious choice.

Robert Downey Jr. continues to embody the character of Tony Stark / Iron Man.  It is difficult to imagine any other actor as the character... it is hard to separate the character and the actor playing him.  This film shows how much Tony Stark has changed since first donning the Iron Man armor, and Downey makes it look effortless.  He has excellent chemistry with Gwyneth Paltrow, who gets a chance to be more involved in the action sequences...and even gets to don the Iron Man suit (which is featured in the trailers, so I don't think it spoils anything)  And Downey has an easy chemistry / banter with Don Cheadle, who returns as Stark’s best friend Captain James Rhodes... their conversations are always entertaining.  Ben Kingsley is captivating as The Mandarin and Guy Pearce is intriguing as Aldrich Killian, and their characters are linked in a surprising way.  Rebecca Hall  is fine as Maya Hansen... and James Badge Dale is menacing as Eric Savin.

This is the first Iron Man film not directed by Jon Favreau, who relinquished directorial duties to Shane Black.  Black is familiar with action films, having written the first two Lethal Weapon movies and directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (which also starred Downey).  Black injects a new energy into the franchise and raises the stakes for Stark.  They don’t play it safe, and it pays off, it will be interesting to see where Marvel takes things from here.  Favreau does appear in the film, reprising his role as Stark’s friend / bodyguard Happy Hogan.

There is also a funny Avenger cameo at the end of the credits.  As usual, comic creator / legend Stan Lee has a memorable cameo (it got a big laugh in my theater).  A good start to Phase 2, and I am intrigued by the new Thor film, which premieres later this year.

A strong, superhero film.  Lots of action and plenty of humor.  A great film, worth the price of admission (and it has some great previews).

Iron Man 3 (2013) 130 minutes
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodes / War Machine
Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian
Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen
Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan
Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin
James Badge Dale as Eric Savin
Paul Bettany as JARVIS