Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3, PG-13

Paramount

3.5 Stars

By the time a franchise has hit the third film in the series fans know what to expect.  Characters are established, relationships are strong and you just need a different bad guy, as long as you didn’t kill off the one in the previous film.  So what should you expect when it comes to “Iron Man 3?”  A little old and new mixed together.

You will remember all the favorite characters coming back, except for Agent Coulson unfortunately.   Then there is the new bad guy, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley).  He has some terroristic tendencies, and is exercising them against the United States.  Kingsley does very well as the bad guy up to a point.  Then he is not so believable as his character.  

Watching this film is much like going back to the Iron Man Comic book.  There are no other heroes present, unless you count War Machine.  Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) though is very troubled by what happened in New York in the Avengers film.  There are demons haunting him when he sleeps and he wonders how he can keep Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) safe.  

Through all of this The Mandarin is attacking.  There are explosions happening all around the country but there is no evidence of a bomb to be found.  It hits for Stark when Happy Hogan (John Favreu) is hurt in an attack at Grauman’s Chinese Theater.   That’s when Stark gives his address out on TV and dares The Mandarin to come find him.  Find him he does, and Stark must deal with what he has done.

Marvel has a lot to live up to following the success of “The Avengers” last year.  They did a very good job of it with this film.  The same comedic vein that runs through “Avengers” runs through “Iron Man 3.”  Plus the action is just as good as the first “Iron Man.”  For many the second film in this trilogy was not great, but this one surpasses that one.  While this is a good film it is not the perfection that we saw in “The Avengers” but it is close.   

Parents you can expect a bit of violence in this film but you should know that already.  That violence includes explosions, gun battles, a helicopter attack with missiles, plus hand to hand combat.  There are also some scenes with women not wearing many clothes.  Girls are playing ping pong in swimsuits and some are in bed in lingerie.  There is no nudity except for some men who are shirtless.  Profanity is not used as much as it could but there are a few words spread around.  Plus there are some people injected with a substance that changes them drastically.

All in all this is a good film.  If you liked “The Avengers” you will like “Iron Man 3.”