The third installment of the series proved to be exactly as advertised. It was fast paced fun and exciting. Robert Downey Jr. continues to play the role of Iron Man perfectly, a fantastic combination of bravado, ego, and altruism. Guy Pearce is a convincing villain. However, in my view, Ben Kingsley stole the show with his portrayal of The Mandarin. There are even several unexpectedly outright hilarious moments.

The plot was adequate, nothing astounding but it met expectations, a few plot holes were evident but forgivable. I will discuss the most egregious one below in the spoilers. It was a bit long, and the film's climax was unnecessarily drawn out. But overall it was a good movie and worth the price of admission. So grab your gal and head down to the theater, Downey spends a good deal of the movie showing off his physique, and getting your date that fired up, can only play in your favor. It would also serve well for a guy’s night. Or if you are friendless, just go alone instead of crying yourself to sleep in your mom's basement (where you undoubtedly live).

Spoilers start NOW… really just one spoiler. I only have one real issue with the film. After Stark's mansion is destroyed the audience is left to assume his suits were destroyed with it. At the end of the film, just before the final conflict, Stark manages to get a prototype up and running, but it temporarily lacks the ability to fly. So he is forced to travel by speed boat to save the president. After Jarvis (Starks AI sidekick) gets the suit flying Stark finds himself facing an army of super human lava soldiers. At this point Stark has Jarvis activate his FREAKING SECRET BRIGADE OF DOZENS OF AUTONIMOUS IRON-MAN STYLE SUITS OF ARMOR. Which leaves only one question? Why the hell did he wait until then? Shouldn't that have been his first item of business? You would think he would want at least one fully functional suit before attacking an army of mutant evil. Instead of activating enough suits to fill a damn school bus, and using them to kick some evil ass, he borrows a freaking boat.

ANYWAY, it was a fun movie. Go see it.

Score: 4/5

Director: Shane Black

Studio: Paramount and Marvel Studios

Release Date: 5/3/13