Iron Man Soars And Fails On Different Levels -

Rating: 9/10 (11 September 2013)

I think it was in "Last Action Hero" that the kid sidekick told Arnold Schwarzeneggar's movie character that by the third movie, everything is supposed to get harder, and that's very much obvious in "Iron Man 3" because Robert Downey Jr.'s character of Tony Stark spends more time out of his suit than he did in it in both the first two movies. Once more dipping into the franchise of Marvel Comics, a terrorist named the Mandarin played by Ben Kingsley is threatening the world, and it is again up to Tony to stand up to defending the planet, only he is not going to be helped by his teammates from "The Avengers." Tony is assisted by Don Cheadle as War Machine aka Iron Patriot and the rest of his iron brigade that by this movie he has developed to operate by voice control. Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts actually gets more to do than just scream and be a victim; she actually gets to wear the suit and become the Iron Princess. The movie and plot are rungs above the first two films with a lot more going on. Experiencing a bit of post-traumatic stress after the aliens in "Avengers," Tony proves he doesn't need the suit as he deals with a number of genetically enhanced assassins led by Guy Pearce who can actually burn through the suit via a genetic quirk that amped his healing factor. (Does Wolverine know this chowder-head stole his gimmick?) Watching the movie, I can't help but wonder if Tony has ever seen a zombie flick; why doesn't he just shoot these people in the head? There is no way they can regenerate brain cells. Once those things are lost, there is no coming back. Beyond that, "Iron Man 3" is beyond exemplary, setting new standards for all superhero flicks coming up or in production and establishing that it really doesn't matter who's in the suit, just what you do with it. There are a few more deaths than usual, and several jaw-dropping moments, and Downey's quips and the fact the movie itself doesn't take itself serious make it more than appealing. My only fault with it is that Tony was going to come to Tennessee, he could have stopped by and said hello. My advice: leave the genetically enhanced assassins in California.