“Iron Man 3” (directed by Shane Black) is not a bad movie. That may sound like faint praise, but considering it’s got a three at the end if its name, “not bad” is pretty high praise.

Not only is it not bad, it’s actually entertaining. Thanks mostly to Robert Downey Jr., whose snark and witty dry humor continue to power the Iron Man franchise.

The storyline is surprisingly streamlined for a third installment to a comic book series.

The film picks up where “The Avengers” left off. Tony Stark is suffering from PTSD, and Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) is losing her patience.

The villain this time is the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). Both are demons of Stark’s own making, and both are terrorists trying to overthrow the US government.

It’s a fairly predictable plot, but there are a few surprises to keep it interesting, and no I won’t be sharing any of them (but there may be a bit of a Downton Abbey theme).

I won’t say it’s the best of the Iron Man series, that title will probably always belong to the first. But it is better than “Iron Man 2” and a good start for this summer’s blockbuster season.
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…just for fun: