Loved it. The perfect story for the third film.

I want to say that I really did like Iron Man 2 a lot but at times that film felt like they were finding their way and searching for a way to build towards the possibility of Avengers. It worked because they did indeed find their way and however Avengers managed to hit the screen it hit the screen in style.

What’s great about Iron Man 3 is that there’s no looking forward and certainly no feeling of a stumbling or searching plot. The writers on this film made just exactly the right size sandbox for the whole story. Everything seen on screen has some meaning now or at some point later in this story arc. There is no intention to pay anything off down the line in some other film. It’s a very well written movie where most everything speaks to an overall theme of some kind. There’s also some fine humor mixed in as everyone comes to expect in these Marvel films. It really is a masterfully crafted film.

That’s why I’m so impressed with this movie. You know they could have phoned it in after Avengers. Just give Iron Man some Transformers level CGI action-fest and sit back and count the box office receipts. That really is the very last thing they did. In fact, they went so bold that it may piss off a few anal retentive fanboys.

Iron Man 3 would actually be a stand out film with none of the great action.
Fortunately, Iron Man 3 delivers story first but it’s coupled with the best action of the series. Marvel really did learn a lot from Avengers and those other pre-Avengers films. The lessons learned pays off big. I’m also do glad they didn’t get overindulgent. It’s back to Tony and Pepper and their supporting cast. That’s how it should be and needed to be. This movie is Tony's journey (mentally and physically) from start to finish.

They hit a home run at every turn with this one. Anyone that says otherwise is flat out lying or one of those very few anal fanboys I referred to earlier.