Begin Phase 2.

“Iron Man 3” has Tony Stark return to battle the terrorist mastermind known as the Mandarin, while also dealing with his frequent anxiety attacks as a result of the events from “The Avengers”.

Sitting in the theater, I was overcome with how cool the whole Marvel film network has become. It’s almost like we’re watching a long running TV show on the big screen, we follow different characters, but now all of these events have created a colourful back story, a rich history to paint each new addition, and “Iron Man 3” being the first installment after “The Avengers”, these elements really shine through.

Whenever I write reviews for sequels I always talk about where it stands next to it’s brothers. “Iron Man” is a simple, almost elegant fun movie and a huge success. “Iron Man 2” had a neat story, I liked how it focused on a sort of arms race with Stark’s technology, but ultimately it felt a little messy. “Iron Man 3″… is a sequel to “The Avengers” far more than to the previous movies. Where “Iron Man 2” left off is so not the same place that “Iron Man 3” picks up. We’re not dealing with close-to home robots gone crazy anymore. Tony is now aware of the existence of Norse Gods, of Aliens. He’s been to space. All these things eat him up inside, and on top of it all there’s no robotic villain in this one.

It’s certainly a lot more fantastical than the other two, not so much a science grounded base. Our new villains have actual powers now, able to explode on a whim or breathe fire. It’s explained away with science, but it looks pretty mystical. This may throw some people off, but it actually works pretty well, and really helps deliver a jam-packed climax.

For a lot of the movie we’re watching Tony Stark, not Iron Man. You could complain about this, but it makes the Iron Man sequences a lot more special and cherishable. It also helps flesh out his character more, a character who in my opinion is excellent. You could put Tony Stark in anything and I’ll at least love him. Sort of like how Jack Sparrow was still awesome in the crappy “Pirates” sequels. What I love about him is that he’s such a dick. He’s cheeky, rude and obnoxious, but, and especially in this movie, he’s forced out of his comfort zone, forced to act. We see the REAL him, we see his struggles. We see depth to a man who on the outset is very shallow.

We’ve come a long way since the first “Iron Man”. This threequel takes us to higher places, it ups the anti pretty well, so much so that “Iron Man” feels like a small indie film in comparison, and I have a feeling that some people will prefer this to the grandeur of “Iron Man 3”, but I think “Iron Man 3” delivers in a way that the first movie couldn’t, but also in a way it didn’t have to.

Shout out to the director, Shane Black, who also did “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”, which is definitely my favourite Robert Downey Jr. Movie. It was awesome to see that hysterical social comedy placed in the “Iron Man” world, though again this may not be to everyone’s tastes.

All in all, “Iron Man 3” crafts an excellent story, relying on it’s own rules, and the decisions made by the characters and the physics of the universe it is set in, which is always a big plus. The series seems to be in good hands, and if “Thor: The Dark World” can also deliver in the way that the original “Thor” completely failed in, then maybe this Marvel franchise won’t simply be made up of cool “Avengers” sequels and sucky sequels for the rest.