Iron Man 3

Phase Two got off to a fine start as Iron Man 3 bucked the trend of diminishing returns, with a considerable swagger and a breathless plot jammed with comic references, solid twists and excellent set pieces. The self-satisfaction is gone, replaced instead by confidence and verve. The film smartly side-steps being a retread and instead carefully advances Tony's character; if it has a fault it's that it's approached as the third film in a trilogy and allows the character a sort of closure which is never really going to last given the scale of the MCU. Still it stands up as a fine mix of action and character study showcasing Tony's faults and strengths in equal measure, setting the foundation for his key role in the next two phases.

TEN GREAT THINGS ABOUT IRON MAN 3

1. SHANE BLACK

With Jon Favreau stepping down Robert Downey Jr pushed for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang director Shane Black to step in and it's an inspired choice as the film is turned into a witty action buddy movie. Tony and Rhodey finally get a proper relationship and both actors rise to the occasion while the whole movie is packed full of smart one-liners and fizzing chemistry, in strong contrast to The Avengers.

2. SECURITY BADGES

While Favreau wasn't in the director's chair he did at least return to play Happy Hogan, further helping the character grow from something of a half-remembered superfluous member of the comic cast into a loved supporting character. Gentle fun is poked at his attempts to stay important and his love of Downton Abbey but there's a genuine emotional punch for the audience as well as Tony when he's injured in the first bombing. 

3. THE MALIBU MANSION ATTACK

The assault on Tony's cliffside mansion from the Mandarin early on, after a furious Tony announced a challenge on live TV, is a superbly-executed sequence featuring such joys as Pepper getting to wear the Mark 42 armour and a grand piano being thrown at a helicopter but also it's genuinely devastating to see the destruction of our hero's base and familiar surroundings, notably the glimpse of Dum-E & U sliding into the Pacific.

4. HARLEY KEENER

Iron Man teaming up with a kid sounds like garbage but between Black, RDJ and Ty Simpkins it really works, giving a nice beat after the explosive opening and showing both Tony's growing awareness of his faults and mentoring skills without getting sentimental. Small-town America makes an interesting change of pace, and one which the film times to perfection, knowing exactly when to move back out.

5. ALDRICH KILLIAN IS A GREAT BAD GUY

The expert blending of the Extremis comic plotline, AIM and the Mandarin into one plot really works, personified by Guy Pearce's swaggering, vicious Aldrich Killian. It keeps the thriller aspect moving nicely as you're never quite sure who's in charge of who, which builds Killian up into a genuinely credible threat after generally mediocre crop of villains in Phase One.

6. WAR MACHINE ROX

The constant ribbing of War Machine's rebrand as Iron Patriot is great fun throughout, with Tony clearly rankled at the popularity; it culminates in a great scene where Stark realises the ramifications of the AIM modifications and calls Rhodey in the middle of a raid on suspected Mandarin minions in Pakistan, where he's forced to loudly admit his password is "War Machine Rox, with an X, all caps", eliciting sniggers from his targets.

7. TONY'S BAG OF TRICKS

Another fine character-based moment comes when Tony infiltrates Killian's mansion with nothing but a satchel full of improvised devices, starting with a hilarious meeting with a local TV cameraman with a tattoo of Tony. After that he works through his PTSD with an arsenal of improvised grenades and electrical devices, showing his inventing skills off.

8. TREVOR SLATTERY

The decision to sacrifice the Mandarin as a serious villain is a great plot-twist, playing against the expectations of a stereotyped foreign terrorist. Adding extra layers is Ben Kingsley's outstandingly self-aware performance as drugged-up luvvie Trevor Slattery, who plainly doesn't understand what he's doing and then lies to his captors blithely for no real reason. It's a great little turn that only adds to the complexity of the plot.

9. THE AIR FORCE ONE RAID

The raid by Eric Savin, wearing the Iron Patriot suit, on Airforce One is another bravura action sequence, running breathlessly from the kidnapping of President Ellis (named for Warren Ellis, who among many other great comics wrote the Extremis arc that redefined Iron Man for the 21st century), the battle between Savin and Iron Man, the rescue of the free-falling presidential staff and then topped off by the cheap and hearty belly-laugh when the hero is struck by a truck and we find out the armour was empty all along.

10. THE HOUSE PARTY PROTOCOL

In a film already brimming with great action sequences it says something that the final one manages to top them all. The activation of Tony's cache of some thirty experimental armours to assist the assault on the Roxxon oil rig Killian was using as a backdrop to his planned assassination of Ellis leads to a fantastic swirling finale with all sorts of exotic suits flying in and out of the action, an armour nerd's dream.