‘Iron Man 3’—The Perfect Summer Flick!

The summer blockbuster season has begun with a bang with” Iron Man 3.” Robert Downey Jr. is back as the billionaire Tony Stark/Iron Man. He is the same cool, charming and brilliant Tony Stark as the one we have come to love in the previous two movies but he has changed. The incidents, shown in “The Avengers,” still shake him and he’s changed some of his reckless ways. He’s no longer a playboy, but devoted to Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, and has passed his business affairs on to her.  Unable to sleep, he spends the majority of his time in his workshop making and perfecting new Iron Man suits.

A new villain, by the mysterious name The Mandarin, claims an attack, which injures Happy Hogan, Tony’s Chief of Security and best friend. This incident incites Tony to seek revenge.

A superhero movie is only as good as its villain and the villain in “Iron Man 3” is very good.  The Mandarin, played by the superb Ben Kingsley, is a ruthless terrorist, airing terrifying media messages and implementing a series of unpredictable and unimaginable attacks.

What makes “Iron Man 3” a great movie is that screenplay writer Drew Pearce and writer/director Shane Black, pay equal attention to Iron Man as a man and as a superhero.

In this installment, we see Tony as the strong, unbeatable Iron Man but we also see him as emotionally wrecked and a little lost. Tony physically loses everything in a massive shoot out.  He finds himself in Rose Hill, Tennessee with one dead Iron Man suit and no hopes of getting it to work. He meets a spirited young boy named Harley, played by Ty Simpkins, who helps him re-discover who he is and how to be Iron Man, sans suit.

It would be sinful to discuss what happens between Iron Man and The Mandarin–all that can be said is the plot is well thought out and suspenseful.

‘Iron Man 3’ is an entertaining, very funny action film. It is the perfect summer flick!