Let's get the obvious points of comparison out of the way first:
"Iron Man 3" is on a par with the original, way better than the
lame "Iron Man 2" but nowhere near as good as last summer's "The
Avengers," Joss Whedon's gold standard take on Marvel Comic's
greatest superhero team.  The latest in the "Iron Man" franchise
won't insult your intelligence, although it doesn't exude the
smarts of the best comic book-based flicks. It has some neat
action set pieces, a very sharp and self-aware performance by
star Robert Downey Jr. (almost a given now with Downey) and a
lively turn by Ben Kingsley as the villainous Mandarin. The film
has notable flaws, but they never rise to the level of becoming
fatal.  In other words, it's decent popcorn entertainment --
just fine for the summertime, but nothing more than that.  Fans
of the Iron Man comic books will recognize the storyline that
director/writer Shane Black ("Lethal Weapon") and his co-writer
Drew Pearce (the upcoming "Pacific Rim") draw on for their
script. "Extremis