The Fall of Iron Man?

Usually, by the third installment of any film franchise - especially super-hero ones - you start seeing strong evidence of the law of diminishing returns. In fact, they usually blow (Superman 3? Batman Forever? Spider-Man 3?). But I have reasonably high hopes for Iron Man 3.

For one thing, Robert Downey doesn't appear to have tired of the character at all, as witnessed by his great turn in The Avengers last Summer and his appearance in the Iron Man 3 Super Bowl spot (below). For another, the film is written and directed by Shane Black, who not only scripted the most popular action films of the 80s and 90s, but wrote & directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, one of my favorite movies ever - which, not coincidentally, featured Downey in one of his best screen performances.

I liked Jon Faverau's first IM film a lot, but his second one seemed to be retreading a lot of the same ground as his first. From the teasers released so far, IM3 looks to be exploring some new emotional territory...