Release the WiseCrackin'

Rating: 7/10 (30 October 2013)

Brilliant inventor/engineer/smart-alek Tony Stark is suffering from insomnia and bouts of PTSD after the incredible battle in New York with the Chitauri & Loki. He still puts on his best cynical/sarcastic/charming face for the public but he has great doubts about himself and his limitations. These are further exasperated by the arrival of "The Mandarin." Mandarin takes credit for several high profile and destructive terrorist attacks throughout U.S. Tony offers to help, but he is told that Mandarin is a "terrorist problem, not a super- hero problem." After an attack leaves his former bodyguard in a coma, Tony disagrees and levels a threat directly at the Mandarin. Things escalate quickly from there.
An obligatory word about sequels.....
The late, great Gene Siskel once said,
"Ok, we're going to talk about sequels. We are going to talk about sequels. See, wasn't it less interesting the 2nd time ?"
This logic holds up more often than not, though I've softened on my inherent disdain/mistrust of sequels over the last decade or so. While there are some movie franchises I enjoy a great deal, I believe each movie (whether part of an ongoing story-line or self-contained) should be able to stand on its own merits.
That said, I liked this movie. But it did come in slightly below my high expectations.
Where it works : Humor - All of the trademark Starkisms are here. Tony being Tony, while putting bad guys, bad girls, fans, kids or members of the press in their place verbally. RDJ does sarcasm better than any other actor today, in my opinion. Action - There is a ton. You're about 20 minutes in before things really get going, but the filmmakers make up for lost time, especially for the finale. Lots of explosions, chases, narrow escapes and large complicated structures going BOOM! CRASH! POW! ZAP! and so on. If you like stuff blowing up, you'll get your fill. Tony's got a new suit which he can operate remotely, along with a few other surprises. Tony Stark - The character itself has gotten better over the course of Marvel's three films. Tony is a billionaire who struggles with a responsibility to his fellow man, deals with past indiscretions/childish behavior, and tries to overcome the insecurity which plagues us all. RDJ has truly digested this role and deserves many accolades for it. He's a fine actor and he's turned a larger-than-life comic book character into a human being (not as easy as it might sound) Where it doesn't work as well: Story - This is adapted from the "Extremis" series created by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov. I found it interesting, but not delivered in a particularly coherent fashion. The overall motive for the antagonist is very similar to that of Obadiah Stane from the original IRON MAN. References - There were a number of references to The Avengers. These were justified by the arc of IM3's story, but it was a little odd to talk about Thor, Loki, and the group collectively half a dozen times without seeing any of them. It also begged the understandable question: "Why aren't any of Tony's super-friends showing up to help him out?" All in all, it's a very good movie. But, the first two films set a very high bar for the franchise. In my opinion, the first remains the best, the second (a very close) 2nd.
BTW : As is the current trend in Marvel films, there is a short scene after final credits that's worth a look. ;-)
My wife liked it, but thought parts of it were "a little silly" My personal rating: 7.5 out of 10 (very good)