film from director Shane Black is well on its way to becoming the 16th movie to break

the billion dollar mark. This picture marks the 4th time Robert Downey Jr. has played

the title character: a charming billionaire playboy mechanic who vows revenge on an evil

terrorist mastermind after his friend is hospitalized in a gruesome bombing attack right outside

the front door of this theater. In the role that ostensibly resurrected his troubled career,

RDJ is as entertaining and arrogant as ever, narrating early, "You know who I am". An analogy

for the film's biggest flaw; as a standalone film, that quote embodies that not much is

done to establish these characters, or their universe... but, if you're familiar with earlier

installments, this 130-minute action spectacle is a real treat. Downey still has nightmare

flashes to his actions in "The Avengers", which are incorporated effectively into the

rudimentary plot, that once again sees our hero stripped away of his suit and powers,

forced to MacGuyver one home-brewed solution after another. A force to be reckoned with,

Gwyneth Paltrow truly comes into her own as the sexy and formidable girlfriend... and

her chemistry with Robert is undeniable in their fourth outing together. Guy Pearce and

Ben Kingsley play the bad guys, and both effortlessly slip into their bizarre and eccentric characters.

Even the minor supporting roles, like Maya Hansen, Jon Favreau, James Badge Dale, Don

Cheadle, or child actor Ty Simpkins do a fine job with the fun and quirky material. Unfortunately,

the talented William Sadler is extremely underutilized and wasted as the President... reduced to

nothing more than a MacGuffin for the protagonists. Combining uber-cool glimpses of near-future

technology with a wicked smart sense of humor, this feature takes a bit of time to get going,

but the chaotic finale with dozens of disposable henchmen is completely delightful. Meaninglessly

set around Christmas time, this PG-13 rated picture showcases Iron Man at his angriest,

but also at his most vulnerable, forced to stave off attacks from the Mandarin, his toughest

adversary yet, especially when the unstoppable villain literally walks through fire, a-la

T-1000. Fans of the source material mayn't be pleased with the inventive and original

take on Iron Man's iconic foe - but casual viewers such as myself will likely enjoy the

twists this film takes. The patriotic score from Brian Tyler mixes drums, trumpets and

strings to create a sense of importance and urgency to the film's larger set-pieces: all

of which are accomplished with intricately detailed and realistic visual effects. The

Marvel / Disney pairing should be applauded for consistently threading together another

fine picture within Stan Lee's creative comic-book adapted universe, even if it isn't always

believable. A light-hearted, rewatchable, and enjoyable ride for all fans of the series,

"Iron Man 3" has, "Simplified thrills with hectic effects." Now for some of your reviews

from the YouTube comments.

Here's "Iron Man 3" on the rate-o-matic... an EIGHT and an EIGHT. Fans of the comic didn't

appreciate the treatment of the primary villain, but applauded the acting and visuals, scoring

the film a GREAT. On par with the trilogy's inaugural effort, this was a competently made

and entertaining movie with many laughs... but it ultimately wasn't as strong as it could

have been, I'll give it a GREAT as well.