Iron Man 3 | What to Watch

Robert Downey Jr's third solo outing as wisecracking billionaire inventor Tony Stark, aka superhero Iron Man, finds him trying to unmask the terrorist mastermind behind a series of global bombings

Robert Downey Jr's third solo outing as wisecracking billionaire inventor Tony Stark, aka superhero Iron Man, finds him trying to unmask the terrorist mastermind behind a series of global bombings.

Ben Kingsley's The Mandarin, part Osama bin Laden, part Fu Manchu, has more than one surprise up his sleeve, but two figures from Stark's past - old flame Rebecca Hall and tech guru Guy Pearce - also spell trouble.

Adding to the complications, Stark is suffering anxiety following the action of 2012's Avengers Assemble, but luckily Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts is on hand to hold the fort at Stark Industries.

But don't worry about the plot; it's Stark's snarky one-liners, delivered by Downey with a whip-cracking snap, that make the film a winner. And Shane Black, taking over directing duties from Jon Favreau and co-writing the script, ensures he gets plenty of zingers.