After the success of the Avengers movie, it’s been a big question: can solo films of these characters match the success of that movie? Let’s take a look at the latest in Tony Stark’s adventures and see. Tony Stark is in a bad place mentally, dealing the traumatic event he went through alongside the Avengers. When the threat of the Mandarin rises, Tony will have to face his greatest foe, and answer the question: is Iron Man more than a suit of armor?

It feels almost pointless to talk about Robert Downey Jr.’s performance as Tony. After all, he’s proven time and again to be born to play the role. But this time, he brings more than the typical over-the-top verbal tricks to the character, with Tony dealing both with his relationship with Pepper Potts, and the fact that he now realizes that there are more threats out there beyond simple science. We’ve seen Tony be funny, and a jerk, and self-destructive, but this is the first time we see him in genuine emotional turmoil, and it works really well in helping us root for him.

The other returning cast members do really well too. Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and even Jon Favreau (who gives over his directing duties to Shane Black) are all still great with their characters, and seeing how they play with the new scenarios in this film is a treat. On the villain front we have Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce, who are both really great at their roles. I wish I could go into more details, but I really want to avoid as many spoilers as I can.

Action and story-wise, this one leaves the last two Iron Man films in the dust, and possibly is the best one out of the trilogy. It helps that the film tries to wrap up Tony’s story, given the rumor that this is the last time we’ll have RDJ as our hero. There’s also a really bold and gutsy plot twist, which may be the most controversial and divisive for hardcore comic fans, but I personally enjoyed it. Speaking of hardcore fans, there are plenty of dropped names and references to things from the comics to please eagle-eyed viewers.

The last thing I want to say is about the post-credits stinger. I enjoyed it, but at the same time, it doesn’t live up to the epic level that previous films’ stingers achieved. Not a bad thing, but still would have been nice to have something epic and hinting at what’s to come.

Iron Man 3, as it was with its predecessors, is the best kickoff point for the summer movie season, and may be the best one in the trilogy. I recommend giving it a shot at least once.