Iron Man Unplugged

Rating: 7/10 (6 May 2013)

It seems even Tony Stark, now suffering panic attacks from that wormhole in New York City, realizes he can't top all the bombastic glory of THE AVENGERS. Thus IRON MAN 3 goes beneath that epic adventure, providing more of a subtle espionage thriller than a superhero roller coaster.
The best scenes have Tony Stark figuring out things on his own after his mansion is attacked and destroyed by impending forces led by The Mandarin, who, played by Ben Kingsley, resembles Osama Bin Laden with the voice of Dan Rather. Mandarin devises (or appears to be devising) televised terror strikes, and the rampage on Stark's pad sets the stage for the rest of the film: Tony's defunct iron suit in hand, he winds up in a small town – kind of a white trash Norman Rockwell painting.
After meeting a helpful young boy, who thankfully is an effective character and not that corny, Tony – who's become a bare knuckle James Bond type – traipses into the villain's lair and finds out something not worth spoiling: Although Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian, first shown in the film's backstory/prologue, was such a frantic scientific underdog he can only get worse. Yet the really important heavies are the agents that can heal themselves instantly, making like that liquid cop in TERMINATOR 2... sleek, resilient, unstoppable... providing Tony Stark (and company) a few cool fights along the way.
Robert Downey Jr. turns in another fine performance in the title role, although his rapid fire sarcasm is hit or miss, only provided he has funny lines to deliver – some are, some aren't. But what makes this third IRON MAN work are the eclectic locations of the action sequences: from a dungeon lair to a soaring air plane to a final stand on an old oil freighter, there's always something to excuse the pun marvel at, despite the plot getting overly complicated and the villain wielding powers that are a bit of a reach, even for a comic book movie.