Is three the “magic” number for the Iron Man series?

“Iron Man 3 Movie Poster” provided by http://www.imdb.com/media/
rm53583872/tt1300854?ref_=tt_ov_i

“Edwards Cinema in the Marketplace” photo by Casey Webb

Iron Man 3 is finally out and as an avid Iron Man fan I am very excited for the future of the franchise. I caught the show at the Edwards Cinema in the Marketplace and was blown away with the all star cast of actors like Ben Kinglsey, and Guy Pearce joining Robert Downy Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow for the third installment of the series.  When Iron Man 3 was announced last year I was a little hesitant that they chose the Mandarin as Tony Stark’s next villain.  Without getting too nerdy, I admired the superhero movies that stayed in the near reality of our universe, like Chris Nolan’s Batman universe. Iron Man 3 still keeps a foot hold in the scientific reality that we live in today but it is traipsing more and more into the Avengers universe.  In the film, Iron Man aka Tony Stark has changed since his engagement with the Chitauri army and Loki from the Avenger movie. Dealing with post traumatic stress disorder and severe anxiety attacks, Stark feels like he is back to square one with his Iron Man designs, feeling inept and unprepared for the battles yet to come. Stark, once again has to deal with the missteps of his past and the monsters he created from it. The movie has recaptured the humor that the first Iron Man film but deals with serious questions about terrorism both domestic and abroad. Iron Man 3 has a lot of unexpected twists that some fans may not agree with but I personally believe that it was an effort to keep a more human face to what challenges Tony Stark must endure and the real consequences of war. Yes there are still men flying around in metal suits. However, in this film Tony must once again redefine who he is, and how he can best protect the ones he cares about. I would personally rate this film 8 out of 10 for the performance and story and would recommend it to all fans of the superhero genre. The one spoiler that I will let you in on is that the end credits are longer than normal on purpose (around 8 minutes long) but the scene at the end is well worth the wait.