Longtime movie critic Richard Roeper calls this the golden age of superhero movies. From the explosive success of Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” back in 2002 to the box-office record-breaker “The Avengers” last year, you’d have to know something he didn’t to disagree. While there have been duds — the abominable “Green Lantern” for example — there has been a refined sense of comic book integrity in the last decade of superhero flicks. Now with the pre-summer blockbuster “Iron Man 3,” the Tony Stark trilogy begun by Jon Favreau comes to a close in the hands of director Shane Black with explosive finality — literally, more than half this movie is comprised of fire and debris.

"IRON MAN 3" PACKED WITH ACTION

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the first Avenger to be explored after they assembled against Loki last summer. While he is still his old narcissistic self, there is a grimmer dimension to Tony in this saga-capper. What he first suspects are symptoms of a poisoning or battle wounds wind up being anxiety attacks. Dealing with gods and aliens in “The Avengers” rocked Tony’s boat, and it’s had psychological repercussions. He feels vulnerable and borderline helpless without his suit — without the technology he hides behind. These insecurities are tested as he goes up against The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a ferocious, camera-loving terrorist with anti-Western ideals, and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), a millionaire scientist who has discovered how to heal wounds and regrow human limbs instantaneously. Together with his girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and War Machine (Don Cheadle), Tony faces off with these baddies while accepting his own mortality and realizing that the man makes the suit, not the other way around.

“Iron Man 3” is definitely a lovable rouser of an action movie. The fight sequences and sequences of destruction are quite exciting to behold. Black has an excellent eye for how much to show the audience at the right moments, making the film a spectacle on many levels. It being the aforementioned golden age of superheroes in cinema, it isn’t a surprise that with every new movie they are noticeably trying to be bigger and better than the last. Following up “The Avengers” was an enormous task, since it is arguably the perfect superhero movie. Fortunately for Black, Favreau’s “Iron Man 2” isn’t hard to beat in the slightest with its awful storyline and lack of pace.

FILM LACKED SERIOUSNESS

Perhaps the reason I’m hesitant to give ample praise to “Iron Man 3” are that my expectations were for an overall darker tone. There are certainly more grim tidings for Tony Stark in this addition to the Iron Man series, mostly because of his struggle to control his panicked inhibition. Still, there was a seriousness that “Iron Man 3” lacked, a seriousness that even the first “Iron Man” displayed back in 2008. Superhero movies are meant to be fun and inviting, but as Christopher Nolan was able to show in his Dark Knight trilogy, basing these super characters in a real world demands a certain dosage of real darkness. There is a point in “Iron Man 3” when Pepper is in mortal peril, and when Tony finds out we only get the slightest bit of worry and sorrow from him. He immediately goes to rescue her, but all the while his signature quips and delightfully arrogant demeanor muddy the waters of true-blue human emotion.

Another aspect to “Iron Man 3” that I lament is the absolute failure to utilize The Mandarin. It’s impossible for me to elaborate on this since it would allow too many spoilers to slip through the cracks of my argument. Let it suffice to say that I was very excited to see a unique spin on this ancient Marvel villain by the incomparable actor that is Ben Kingsley — and I was left high and dry. Aside from that, the cast is exquisite. Downey Jr. is, as always, the man born to play Tony Stark. He is, in a way, Tony Stark on a daily basis as himself, or at least from what I can tell watching interviews. Paltrow and Cheadle are pleasant sidekicks, and Guy Pearce plays Killian with a slimy charisma that paints him as one of the most acceptably formulaic bad guys to date.

On a whole, I did like “Iron Man 3.” It is entertaining and true to the series, which was a commendable direction by Black. My own tastes and expectations blocked me from completely enjoying what I saw. For others I am guessing this will be a very complete and convivial movie experience with an impeccable performance by Downey Jr. and enough action to sink a ship — or demolish Tony’s bachelor pad off a Malibu cliff face.