"Iron Man 3" 3.5 stars out of 4 (B+)

For as much flack as the "comic book film genre" has received over the years, one of the most interesting occurrences in this genre has been the freedom given to filmmakers who want to do original takes on the material. Robert Rodriguez made his masterpiece with 2005's "Sin City". Christopher Nolan proved that you could take a comic and turn it into an interesting and adult piece of art with his "Batman" films. Joss Whedon took multiple Marvel super heroes and weaved them together to create something that is nothing short of a surprise in "The Avengers". It would be easy for the studios to find a lower-quality filmmaker for these films. Someone who will simply yes "Yes boss" and include every bit of stereotype, cliche, and product-placement into the films creating something pedestrian and vapid. "Iron Man 3" follows in the steps of Rodriguez, Nolan, and Whedon by taking a relatively unproven filmmaker, Shane Black, and giving him the freedom to create something that is becoming more and more uncommon these days: a special effects film where they got the script right before they got the pixels right.

"Iron Man 3" starts off shortly after the events that took place at the end of "The Avengers". Billionaire machinist Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is off. This is not the alcoholic and purely narcissistic Stark we were introduced to in the first two "Iron Man" films. This Stark is truly shook up. He can't sleep and when he does he has panic-induced nightmares. A new villain, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), starts threatening the American people through nationally televised cryptic threats. Stark must fight through his own demons in order to fight the ones that threaten him and his girlfriend, Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow).

The "Iron Man" series started on a gamble. Having unproven former drug-addict Downey, Jr. play a major role in a comic book film was a risk that turned out to be a stroke of genius. The latest stroke of genius was letting Shane Black direct "Iron Man 3". After the dull and boring "Iron Man 2", Black's "Iron Man 3" is a quick-paced and witty film with more surprises than you would expect from a big-budget summer film. Black has made a career on writing snappy dialogue. We last saw this in 2006's "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", the film that arguably reminded the film world about Downey. Here he takes the often overblown character of Stark and puts him in a mostly realistic world-place. He is no longer this over-the-top caricature of a person. While that is most definitely entertaining, it makes us difficult to care about him. Here, we actually start to feel for Tony Stark and the people around him. Gone is the narcissism and womanizing. Gone is the over-the-top AC/DC music that filled every scene of the first two films. Stark seems like a human being. Although this is definitely the most supernatural of the three "Iron Man" films, it also feels the most realistic somehow.

The supporting cast is another place where "Iron Man 3" shines. Ben Kingsley's performance as The Mandarin is perfectly chilling. While he isn't quite in the league of something like Heath Ledger's Joker, Kingsley reminds us that he is a great actor who is underused. Guy Pierce is also perfectly cast as Aldrich Killian, a scientist who has large plans for medical advancements that could replace missing limbs but at a great cost. Child actor Ty Simpkins is also incredibly good as Harley, a boy that Stark befriends on his adventures. The role of "kid sidekick" is a tired cliche that many fans will balk at even a mere suggestion. Simpkins is given great dialogue to work with and fits in very well with Downey's barbs of sarcasm. 

The main complaint that people will have with "Iron Man 3" is that Downey spends so much time out of his Iron Man costume. There aren't nearly as many action sequences as we've come to expect. That said, the pull back from action to the drama of the characters and the situation is a worthwhile and interesting approach. Did we really need more scenes of a CGI superhero punching bad guys while a Black Sabbath song plays? Do we really need ADR Downey Jr quips piped in over "Shoot to Thrill" by AC/DC? These events have already been done and played out. We have seen Iron Man in enough action scenes. This is not to say that "Iron Man 3" is a slow-moving art house film. The film's $200 million budget is definitely prevalent in every scene. The action scenes are used well and fit in perfectly.

The most exciting thing about the success of movies like "The Avengers" and "Iron Man 3" is that they will open up the ability for real filmmaking to exist in the "comic book" genre. When wordsmiths like Joss Whedon and Shane Black are allowed to write films that weave together action and genuine screenwriting brilliance, it proves to studio heads that you don't need to leave your brain out when you watch an action movie. This is very similar to how Nolan proved with "The Dark Knight" that you could make a dark and challenging comic book film that audiences and critics both adored. The work of Whedon and Black proves that there is no excuse for films like "G.I. Joe Retaliation" or the "Transformers" films to rely purely on "dumb fun" and "'splosions". Black proves here that you can have fun and make a true "film" at the same time. While I don't know when we will see a new "Iron Man" film, I can imagine the impact from this movie will ring through in the big-budget films that come out in the next few years.