“Iron Man 3” was co written & directed by Shane Black had previously did 2005’s “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” which also starred Robert Downey Jr. Black replaced previous director Jon Favreau who chose not to do a third film but remain as his on screen character, “Happy Hogan”. The film sees Downey, Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Paul Bettany returning to their respected roles. Joining the cast is Guy Pierce, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, Ty Simpkins, William Saddler & James Badge Dale.
This was the final film in the “Iron Man” trilogy but the 7th film in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.

After the events of “The Avengers” in New York, Tony Stark (Downey) returns home and is hiding the fact that he is suffering from PTSD resulting in random anxiety attacks. Tony is also keeping an eye on the news as a new terrorist emerges. The Mandarin (Kingsley) has been bombing random cities in the U.S. as message to President Ellis (Saddler). As Tony tries to deal with his own problems, Pepper Potts (Paltrow) now the head of Stark Industries, is approaches by a new developer in bio chemistry and science, Aldrich Killian (Pierce) who offers a partner with Pepper and involvement in his newest creation, Extremis, a regenerative treatment for crippling illness and injuries. Pepper is very intrigued but declines the offer claiming is sounds highly weaponized. Happy Hogan (Favreau) follows Killian and his bodyguard, Eric Savin (Dale) to the TCL Chinese Theater where a exchange goes terribly wrong resulting another one of The Mandarin’s bombings leaving Hogan badly injured. Pepper’s and Tony’s relationship is a bit rocky due to Tony’s PTSD. When scientist, Maya Hensen (Hall) appears in need of Stark’s help, The Mandarin attacks Tony’s home. Maya and Pepper make it to safety but Tony’s Iron Man suit has taken him to a rural town in Tennessee following Tony’s investigation after Hogan’s accident. There, Tony discovers that Killian’s company has been funding The Mandarin’s plot to attack in the U.S. Now, Tony must put aside his fears and symptoms and once again be the hero and stop Killian and The Mandarin from destroying the world.

Coming off the huge success of “The Avengers” fiest film, Marvel had risen the bar for superhero films. “Iron Man 3” was not a bad film but then again wasn’t a good one either. The performances, visuals and action sequences were all fantastic. Its the storyline that really makes the film bland. It starts off great and continues to do so but its the final act and the reveal that stop it dead in its tracks. I don’t wanna spoil anything but if you’ve seen this movie then you know that the final reveal of Killian and The Mandarin was dumb and nearly kills the movie. The Iron Man trilogy is very similar to other superhero trilogies where the first is great, second one is pretty good too but fails with the third one. “X-Men” , “Spider Man” & “Blade” all have that same formula. Robert Downey Jr. shines as Tony Stark and owns the character. Bottom line the movie doesn’t work without him.

This would be the last stand alone film for Tony Stark which marked a bittersweet moment for fans of Iron Man. Robert Downey would reprise the role in other films such the next 3 “Avengers” films, “Captain America: Civil War” and the 2 “Spider Man” films with Marvel. This was also part one of the end for Tony Stark, meaning the end of his stand alone films & part 2 would come in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame”. Shane Black would go on and direct 2016’s “The Nice Guys” & 2018’s “The Predator”.