255, Iron Man 3

So here it is, the third and final (?) instalment of whats honestly been a pretty impressive trilogy.  For me - the lure of a good Superhero movie is one I can never walk away from, as with the recent Batman outings I always seem to crave the next big thing.  Iron Man 3, Avengers 2 & Man of Steel as well as few other pipeline movies will always top my most wanted list so to see them through to their end leaves a sense of emptiness once there done.

As for Iron Man 3 however I left feeling slightly confused.  I'm not going to give the game away entirely but as with Batman - we are left as an audience realising that the involvement of the lead character, cloaking up to defeat bad guys may be at an end but still leaving an opening for someone else to pick up the mantle - something that will be interesting to see played out due to the continuity of Avengers 2.  its no secret that Iron Man 3 picks up where Avengers left off - Stark himself having nightmares about the alien invasion and his fall from space that could have ended so differently had the wormhole closed with him on the other side.

With that and his now knowledge of other universal beings (Thor, Loki etc) this movie centres more around the demons within Stark rather than suiting up at every opportunity and when it all finally wraps itself up - you do wonder how Iron Man's involvement in the Avengers 2 will actually work - if of course he's in it.  (Although it is only rumoured at this time - according to IMDB).

Well, that's enough of the politics - lets get back to the movie. 

When it comes to Special Effects - action fans certainly

wont be left wanting more - there is plenty to keep the most hardened of us pleased and that by far is the biggest thumbs up I can give this movie.  The trailer?  Well that focuses on The Mandarin - Ben Kingsley's frighteningly scary terrorist who can strike at any moment, from anywhere.  There is however a likeable twist when it comes to this character which again - is too good to spoil but when the penny actually drops, lets just say there is definitely two sides to this so called ultimate bad-ass.

Stark & Potts, well, there is certainly more flesh on show from the gorgeous Paltrow and Downey Jr. himself certainly displays more humility in this than any of the others, appearing the most vulnerable you've ever seen him.  A well played back up cast sees regulars Don Cheadle & Jon Favreau doing their bit with gusto and new addition Guy Pearce is an unlikely choice for the one time geek turned potential heartbreaker and deadly new threat, Killian.

The plot - well, that's simple.  Terrorist wants to take down pretty much everyone and Iron Man steps up to take him down.  Nothing new there then!

There is no doubt this is to be classed as a Hollywood Blockbuster - a must see movie if you've followed the other two but for me it just seemed to lack a certain something.  Everyone was great in their roles but I just felt something was missing and the sad thing is I can actually put my finger on what it is. 

The actual 'threat' element of the movie, once explained left me feeling a little cheated.  Perhaps totally unbelievable (to me) in its theory but then, this is a movie that makes up a set of recent Marvel outings that see Intergalactic Gods fighting Ice Giants so who is to say whats believable or not.  I suppose because the other two Iron Man films were actually quite down to earth in comparison - this one just jumped a few steps too far the other way, but I believe I've got the Avengers to thank for that.

For fans of the set - you wont complain.  Its a fitting finale to a great trilogy of movies and who's to say we wont see an Iron Man 4 at some point in the future, not me!