Iron Man 3, released May 3, follows Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr., after the events of The Avengers. Tony is now plagued by the memories of said events, ultimately coping by ceaselessly making new models of the Iron Man suit. Eventually Tony will be forced to come to terms with his capabilities as a man without armor.

The story brings many new things to the table of the Iron Man universe, which is exciting compared to the Iron Man 2 formula of throwing a couple new machines in the mix and seeing how it plays out. This time around, Tony gets the spotlight without the aid of his suit for the good middle portion of the movie. It feels like something new, and it is very exciting both action and plot wise.

So while the story did have its ups, there were also its downs. The main antagonist seems to be driven by motives that are not entirely clear, and there are one or two parts where it felt as though something was left out. It all comes together nicely however, and the issues were negligible.

The movie retains its signature sense of humor and wit established in the previous movies. If anything, it’s more prevalent than it was before. However it just seems inappropriately placed at times, rendering the overall mood of any intentionally serious or emotional scene less valid. On the other hand, scenes falling under that category were a rarity throughout the film.

It’s safe to say that Iron Man 3 is matches the standard set by the first movie while making up for some of the more disappointing aspects of the second. It’s an exciting movie with a unique mix of action and humor, and everything from the preceding films is nicely wrapped up giving Iron Man 3 5 stars out of 5.