Iron Man Minus Friends

Caught Iron Man Three the other day. Not a bad start to Marvel's Phase II. Not Avengers good, of course, but enjoyable enough. Shane Black was an interesting choice to write and direct, but turned out to be a successful one for the most part. There are lots of laughs and a few twists, though the last act "buddy cop" sequence does feel a little too much like a Lethal Weapon movie or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang at times.
I liked the references to Tony's superfriends and how screwed up he has become by seeing another dimension and almost dying. There isn't a lot of Iron Man action in this film, but luckily the plot isn't just a boring setup for the Avengers like Iron Man 2. There's also some nice callbacks to the first (and still the best) IM movie, including a cameo from Yinsen (who helped Tony build the first suit) in a 1999 flashback.
The sinister video footage of terrorist the Mandarin keeps things interesting until the first big action sequence - the spectacular attack on Stark's home. Gwyneth Paltrow finally gets to be more than a damsel in distress, briefly donning the suit to become an Iron Maiden. The middle section of the film focuses on Stark, sans all his technology, planning his attack on the Mandarin aided by a precocious young boy, though luckily it's more comedy than schmaltz. The famous Extremis storyline from the comic is used to create some interesting villains, though we never get to see Stark use the technological virus on himself.
The final act starts with a huge twist (SPOILER!) that manages to be both hilarious and completely undermine the villain. Ben Kingsley plays both the fictitious Mandarin and the Croydon actor hired for the role perfectly. It's a shame he wasn't allowed to go full villain, though. Guy Pearce tries his best to usurp him as the true villain, but lacks the menace Kinglsey has in his early scenes. Rebecca Hall as the "is she a baddie or not?" co-creator of Extremis is also pretty much wasted. It is nice to see William Sadler and Miguel Ferrer as the President and Vice President, though.
The final battle is spectacular, and gives the always underused War Machine (now called Iron Patriot) something to do at last. Fans of Iron Man's various suits will feel like a kid in some kind of store by the end. The suits even produce a fireworks show when they blow up.
Everything is wrapped up pretty neatly, and this would be a fitting ending for the character if Robert Downey, Jr. decided not to return and collect another $50 million paycheck (Marvel obviously feel this is unlikely, as the credits promise that James Bond, I mean Tony Stark will return). It's a superbly staged blockbuster, but I found the most entertaining parts to be a shoutout to Downton Abbey and an after-credits cameo from a certain Dr. with breath-taking anger management issues. Avengers 2 can't come soon enough!