A few electron volts above 1 and 2

Rating: 7/10 (12 May 2013)

Filled past the brim with a tighter script with fewer quips and even more action than the previous two installments, Shane Black's take on the metal-man's saga is gripping, fantastic entertainment with a capital E. Guns, robots, robot suits, self-healing people who can regrow limbs, you know, the usual stuff.
The new villain to enter the world of Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) is The Mandarin, a mysterious, disheveled terrorist who's supposed to bear quite the resemblance to Osama bin Laden (although bin Laden himself is referenced in the movie). The Mandarin orchestrates several attacks on the US, but, tellingly, the explosions leave no trace of actual bomb. The Mandarin terms these attacks as lessons for the American people, and as they escalate in stature a nation turns its lonely eyes to Mr. Tony Stark, who's still trying to mentally process the events of The Avengers.
You might remember that in The Avengers, Iron Man temporarily sacrificed himself to save Earth by traveling through a worm hole and fighting off alien bad guys alongside Captain America, The Hulk, and Thor. For a man who up until that point was essentially a playboy who settled the occasional revenge/grievance, Stark has a lot to go through. Now he suffers from horrific insomnia (72 hours awake!) and night terrors. His place in the universe has been forever altered, and so has he psychologically. So he ensconces himself within his laboratory/basement and works on Iron Man suits to his heart's content, forty-something, actually, each one with different capabilities, each designed to defend the Earth against, well, anything.
But this has made for a brooding superhero. He can't sleep, so he does what he does best - build - to the eternal chagrin of his love, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), who's now head of Stark Industries (well, High Up, anyway). Tony's behavior both frightens and confuses her, and now this business with The Mandarin - will Iron Man get sucked into another adventure?
Here's how this movie differs from its predecessors. We no longer see only the invulnerable, cocky, risk-taking Stark. This new Tony is much more like Batman, looking for a way to escape from his demons and not even knowing what those demons are. He suffers panic attacks and seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This makes for a much more evolved, shall we say, superhero. It ain't just about him anymore, or about Pepper. It's about the life, the universe, and everything. And his mortality shows, like the slip of a woman who's dressed hurriedly, and he doesn't like it one bit.
I saw this movie in 3D. It's worth it, doesn't seem forced. I didn't bother with the IMAX, because I don't really need to be that immersed in a comic-book movie, but your mileage may vary. As far as I was concerned, the 3D was more than enough.
Stark makes copious use of his technology, but there comes a time in the film when he has basically nothing with which to work. I'm talking no suit, no JARVIS, no Pepper, no lab, no nothing. He has to rely on his intelligence and creativity and resourcefulness - the very same traits that got him out of that cave in the first Iron Man movie. It's not an altogether pain-free experience.
Don Cheadle returns as Rhodes, whom the government puts in the War Machine suit from Iron Man 2, repainted in red, white, and yes blue, sort of a nod to ol' Captain America, called Iron Patriot. Nifty, and it reminded me of the early part of the Captain America movie, in which Cap essentially has to sell out and perform as a sideshow act for the troops, to keep up morale. With a Good Guy robot on their side, the government is pleased - until...well, this is truly not a spoiler, but a resident baddie finds a way to control Rhodes' suit, and we next have a subplot regarding the abduction of the president and the true identity of The Mandarin (guess what - Stark's past is involved).
Now, those who are avid followers of the comic books may well be unhappy with some changes. Deal with it. The movie is not in a different dimension from its cinematic ancestors, and that's really the correct comparison. Some minor characters may have changed a little from the comics. Does it mean the movie suffers? Of course not.
There was a lot more humility than I'd come to expect from these movies, more humanity, more fear of mortality. That injection of reality, following so close behind the tragedies within The Avengers, makes this a very good genre movie. Yes, there are surprises, and yes, there are moments when your heart skips a beat, and yes, there are truly beautiful moments. But in all, this is a high-energy, hyperactive film that still manages to be philosophical and even regretful.