“Iron Man 3” provides an entertaining and ingenious adventure with the help of its alluring lead, exciting action sequences, and a few surprises that catch you unexpectedly.

Shane Black who began his directorial career with “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” was an interesting choice to take this movie as his next film. The studio would probably have picked a more qualified director to take on the movie, but they didn’t. Black makes sure that there is much information that needs to be covered but he does it with good pacing and sharp whit to keep the audience in their seats.

There was a lot of information that needed to be covered; the new terrorist villain The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), how Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) was affected by the events in The Avengers, watching what Stark’s new Mark XLII armor can do, and Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) dropping his name War Machine for Iron Patriot. The story starts off with Stark being hailed as a hero and is unable to sleep at night, dismayed about the existence of other threats that he might not be able to protect his loved ones. Iron Man finds himself back into action as the repercussions of his earlier arrogance results in Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) and scientist Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) lead a domestic campaign of terrorism led by the Mandarin.

The action sequences are bigger and better than the first two movies. When scenes in which Stark’s mansion gets demolished are phenomenal. The movie switches to a first-person point of view and you see Stark being trapped underwater by falling debris. It was also pretty creative when Stark saves more than 10 people in the Air Force One sequence at the same time.

Kingsley does an incredible job of portraying the Mandarin with a fantastic spin that will leave viewers feeling either insulted or accepted. Downey Jr. gives his usual performance showcasing his articulate banter and whip-smart one-liners. It also focuses on Stark’s newfound compulsion and his sense of unworthiness compared to the other avengers.

The film is just as good as the original Iron Man. It is hilarious, very well crafted, and groundbreaking on the same level of the first film. The movie ends on a high and satisfying note with the possibility for another film. “You can take away my house, all my tricks and toys,” Downey’s Stark explains. “The one thing you can’t take away: I am Iron Man.”