Everything is different in the Marvel Universe post the alien attack on New York that defined last years billion dollar superhero assemblement - The Avengers.

Very much like 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, by the same writer and director, the film is opened to a monologue by Robert Downet Jr. From this point on you know this film is going to be different to it's predessrors, formula wise, and it is also made clear from the films opening that it isn't going to attempt to outweigh it's heavy Marvel predessor.

"When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called The Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution. As he fights his way back, Stark discovered the answer to the question that always haunts him: does the man make the suit, or does the suit make the man?"

Standing next to the last Marvel film 'The Avengers', Iron Man 3 feels like an anticlimax.. This however does not stop writer and director Shane Black from delivering us one highly entertaining film! With the regular cast of Robert Downey Jr, Gweneth Patrow, Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau returing the films also includes new cast; Rebecca Hall, Guy Pearce and Sir Ben Kingsly. From the theatrical trailer we know that The Mandarin is unlike other Iron Man villains. He does indeed back up Shane Black's statement that he is a 'real world villain, and not just two men in a suit fighting each other.'. The Mandarin is not what he seems and is just wonderful to watch.

Similar to it's predesessors Iron Man and Iron Man 2 this film shares the same style traits in acting, story and development. However it is that with the additional clash of action, sci-fi and comedy thrown into the mix. Even with Robert Downey Jr's fantastic Iron Man persona, the amazing set peices, bad-ass villains and gifted soundtrack the film does not deliver. So what's wrong with it? Parts of the plot development are terribly unoriginal and have been recycled throughout Hollywood recently: Much like Bond, Iron Man has been stripped of gadgets, help and also presumed dead. He then also goes Home Alone style and builds home-made tricks to stop the bad guys. (Who actually are rip-off T-1000's).

Even with and without it's flaws Iron Man 3 remained faithful to the Marvel franchise. If you can with stand its one hundred and thirty minutes running time there is a post credits sequence that will make you smile.