Iron Man 3

This room just needs a robot’s touch.

Rated 3.0

Billionaire superhero Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) contends with two villains: a terrorist called The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and an urbane think-tank tycoon (Guy Pearce), who may be working with the terrorist. Director and co-writer (with Drew Pearce) Shane Black takes over from Jon Favreau (now playing Stark's head of security), and his movie, while less memorable than the first Iron Man, is at least less instantly forgettable than its sequel. The action set pieces become enervating after a while, so patently CGI that nothing's really ever at stake. The movie works mainly due to its acting: Downey, of course; Gwyneth Paltrow as gal Friday/sweetheart Pepper Potts; Don Cheadle as Stark's military pal; and Kingsley. The most pleasant (and only) surprise is a sprightly youngster, Ty Simpkins, as a whiz kid who helps Stark.