Iron Man 3

photo I was no fan of the first two “Iron Man” movies; I found snarky wealthy industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and his tin-man-without-a-heart persona rather annoying and the action all too metallic and overwhelming; there just wasn’t enough reality to the films. Of course I was in the minority. But that’s been rectified by this outing, which, by stripping Stark of his safety net and putting him out into the world sans his armor, serves to humanizee the character and actually make me root for him (instead of wanting to run out and get a can opener). The plot: A foreign radical named The Mandarin masterminds a series of terrorist attacks, including one on Hollywood’s Chinese Theatre and one that totally destroys Stark’s house and all its weaponry, forcing Stark and one remaining suit into hiding in, of all places, Tennessee. There he finds out about a super-secret DNA altering program called Extremis that gives people super-human strength and the ability to recover from crippling injuries. That discovery leads him to Miami, where he finds that the real brains behind The Mandarin is someone from his past who not only has a grudge to settle with Stark, but who also wants to take down the president of the United States and install a puppet government. Only Stark — basically stripped of his powers and relying on his intellect and wits — stands in the way of this dastardly scenario. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: Does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? Jon Favreau handed over the directorial duties on “3” to Shane Black, who wrote the “Lethal Weapon” franchise films, “The Long Kiss Goodnight” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” and who, along with Drew Pearce, wrote this definitely more humanistic story line. Extras include a very cool “Marvel One Shot: Agent Carter” short film starring Hayley Atwell as British agent Peggy Carter from “Captain America,” flexing her muscles as a hot secret agent for S.H.I.E.L.D; a couple behind-the-scenes featurettes; a gag reel and deleted & extended scenes; and commentary ­with Pearce and Black. Vitals: Director: Shane Black. Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Ben Kingsley, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, Paul Bettany, William Sadler, James Badge Dale, Yvonne Zima. 2013, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 130 min., Action Adventure, Box office gross: $403.157 million, Disney. 3 stars

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