They couldn't exist without each other.
The Lowdown: Before 2008, people were like “Who’s Iron Man?” After 2008, people were like “Iron Man kicks ass!!!” Robert Downey Jr. made his big comeback on the silver screen playing Tony Stark, and the charisma that exuded from the character instantly made fanboys and fangirls of us all. Hopes were high that the sequels would continue to improve on the character. Sadly, Iron Man 2 (2010)was a disappointment due to its overstuffed and largely forgettable plot; it was pretty much just a kickoff for The Avengers (2012), the best superhero movie ever made. Iron Man 3 marks a return to a simpler superhero film, and the result is another top-notch addition to the Marvel universe. As a film, it is solid, but suffers a bit from pacing and tonal inconsistencies, plus a generous amount of “WTF”. As commercial entertainment, it delivers a really good time at the movies.
1. The Plot: We begin back in 1999, before Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) became Iron Man. It’s New Year’s Eve. At a science conference in Switzerland, Tony has a run-in with Aldrich Killian (a sneering Guy Pearce), a nerdy, slouching, limping scientist who wants to partner with Tony. However, Tony refuses Killian’s offer in order to spend Y2K with Maya (Rebecca Hall), a young botanical scientist working on plant regeneration. 13 years later, the events of The Avengers have occurred, and Tony is now suffering anxiety attacks from his near-death experience. He tinkers with his gizmos and gadgets to calm himself down. As if bad memories aren’t enough for Stark, a terrorist has been causing a stir around the world. He calls himself The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), and boy, is this guy ruthless and sadistic in his methods. Tony Stark could really use a break. Too bad he won’t get one because he also has do deal with his personal life. He is in a relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow), who is the new CEO of Stark Industries. She is visited by Killian, who is now physically fit and super suave. He comes with a new gene-altering invention, wanting to partner with Stark Industries again, but Pepper turns him down. Tony finds out about Killian, and this puts a bit of strain into his relationship with Pepper.
Pepper is fortunate because literally everybody is in love with Tony Stark.
Meanwhile, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Tony’s goofy bodyguard, senses something fishy about Killian. He follows Killian’s creepy henchman, Savin (James Badge Dale), but before Happy can get any real information, a sudden explosion leaves him in a coma. It is soon revealed that this was the work of The Mandarin. Enraged, Tony sends a public threat of revenge to The Mandarin, under the pretense that nothing will happen. In response, The Mandarin destroys Stark Manor. Thought to be dead, Tony realizes that he is in the middle of a bigger conspiracy, and must find a way to rebuild his Iron Man suit and save the world.2. The Characters: Robert Downey Jr. proves once again that he is the most awesome dude ever by playing snarky billionaire Tony Stark. As has been said for just about every review of the Iron Man films, Robert Downey Jr. was an ideal casting choice. Even when the film is weak, his performance is not. He just fits into the shoes of Tony Stark so nicely that quite frankly, I find it impossible to envision anyone else in the role. That said, Tony Stark has bigger issues this time around. After the events of The Avengers, Tony suffers from PTSD or something, and has panic attacks that prevent him from sleeping. This adds some depth to the Tony Stark character, but only features sporadically in the film, making it less impactful than it could have been. It even feels a bit tacked on at times. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as Pepper Potts, Tony’s long-suffering love interest. There is nothing new about her character, but one can understand that being in a relationship with Iron Man must be strenuous. Don Cheadle reprises his role as Colonel James Rhodes, a.k.a. the Iron Patriot. Cheadle is a great actor, but he is underused yet again. He barely gets a chance to wear the suit, and therefore, he has hardly anything to do. Why have him in the film at all then? Jon Favreau also returns as Happy Hogan, the world’s most uptight bodyguard and the film’s goofy comic relief. He isn’t in much of the film, but is a welcome sight when he is. But the real scene stealers in this film are the villains. Guy Pearce (Memento, Prometheus, Lawless) is Aldrich Killian, the epitome of over-the-top evil. Killian has plans to use his newly-discovered technology to turn people into superhumans, and it is truly frightening what these people become. It’s a sinister and dastardly plan. Guy Pearce fully embraces the character, exuding the same sliminess and sneering demeanor that he had in Lawless (2012). His epic overacting pretty much seals the deal. Also overacting is James Badge Dale as Savin, Killian’s right-hand man, who sneers so much that he could have pulled some facial muscles at one point.
Killian: The most obviously-named villain ever.
The other villain is The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley (Gandhi). The Mandarin is a terrorist with elusive nature; few have ever seen him, yet he is the mastermind behind many a heinous terrorist attack. Even though he is not in the film much, it is Ben Kingsley who steals the show even from under Guy Pearce. Kingsley is an extremely versatile actor, and he demonstrates that here, the result of which is a real surprise.You'll never see me coming...
3. Uneven: a) Pacing Issues: One of the problems with Iron Man 3 is that it is awkwardly paced. Sometimes the film is moving so fast that it’s hard to keep up, and sometimes the film drags. The problem is that many scenes feature elements that didn’t need to be there or could have been done in a different way. For instance, there is an extended segment of the film where the plot meanders all over the place. Tony has crash landed in Tennessee of all places, and hides out in a tool shed. The kid who lives in the house next door discovers Tony and his true identity, and for the next 20 minutes, the kid follows Tony around as he works to collect information and fix the Iron Man suit. This entire segment of the film is largely expository and pointless. It is also sluggishly paced. Abrupt editing is what causes some scenes to move too fast. In the second half of the film, a lot of stuff is happening all at once, and the film cuts back and forth from each of the subplots quite a bit, making things difficult to keep track of. If they had slowed down with moments like these, then the film would have been easier to follow as well.b) Tonal Issues: The tone of the film is another area in which the film meanders. Iron Man 3 is noticeably darker than the first two installments and The Avengers, what with the introduction of The Mandarin’s ruthless terrorist activity and Killian’s creepy human experimentation. The violence is also far more intense compared to the first two Iron Man films.
It's...getting...cold...oh, wait, I'm in Tennessee.
However, the filmmakers still have to inject Starkisms and family-friendly content into the film because it is PG-13. The problem is that the screenplay features awkward placement of these elements. Robert Downey Jr. handles the quippy nature of his character well, providing well-timed comic bits. However, other jokes and gags feel out of place, especially when so obviously juxtaposed with the intense scenes before and after them. This makes the tone inconsistent in places, and the effect is sometimes jarring.c) Choppy Action Sequences: One of the positives of Iron Man 3 is the fact that it has far more violence than in the previous two Iron Man films, which I felt were lacking. After all, this is an action film, so we should expect plenty of cool superhero action, and we get a lot of it. Some of the action sequences are quite inventive and even breathtaking, namely one scene which features the best use of skydiving I’ve seen in a film since Drop Zone. There are two problems however. One problem is that the action scenes are choppily edited. It’s difficult to decipher what is happening on the screen because there is an overreliance on quick cuts. The second problem is the CGI. There is too much of it filling the screen at any one time during action scenes, which combined with the quick-cutting makes for an incomprehensible action scene. Dizziness may occur. The CGI is also noticeably lesser in quality compared to the previous two films. This may have been a result of switching visual effects companies; ILM did the first two films, and Digital Domain handled the effects for this one. This isn’t a huge distraction, however. I'm just nitpicking.All of the above problems can best be summed up in one scene where The Mandarin sends his goons to blow up Stark Manor. When the missiles hit the house, the entire structure explodes and crumbles into the ocean below. The ensuing explosions fill the entire screen with dust and debris, making it difficult to see what is on the screen. It is also difficult to tell what exactly is happening thanks to the quick-cutting. When Iron Man gets dragged down to the ocean floor, the debris makes the water murky, which, combined with the already dark and murky visuals, makes it very difficult to make out anything. While this scene is intense, it would have been better if it were more comprehensible. It feels like the visual effects team was using the overabundance of dirt and explosions to clutter the screen and hide any flaws in their effects.
4. 3D: I did not see Iron Man 3 in 3D, but I know some people who did. According to them, the 3D was dim and hardly noticeable. I suppose this is expected for a film that was post-converted to 3D instead of being shot in 3D. The lesson here is to make sure that a film was filmed in 3D before seeing it. Otherwise, hard earned dollars will be wasted and your eyes will be sore.
No.
The Bottom Line: Iron Man 3 is fantastic entertainment, but only an OK film. I would argue that its strengths (gleefully over-the-top villains, Robert Downey Jr. and his quippiness, not spending lots of time setting up Avengers 2) outweigh its weaknesses (tonal, pacing, and CGI issues), but being more consistent would have made for a better film. As it stands, Iron Man 3 has the benefit of (relatively) simpler storytelling. Films like Iron Man 2, Spider-Man 3, and The Dark Knight Rises suffered largely because far too much was going on and there was little reason for us to care about much of it. Iron Man 3 is somewhat overstuffed (3 villains?) and has a generous amount of deus ex machina in it, but the film moves so fast that one doesn't really stop to think about it. But really, why am I nitpicking and overanalyzing this film? This is frickin’ Iron Man 3!!! It’s a superhero movie for goodness sakes. This film was made for mass entertainment, and believe me, it delivers plenty of that. The bottom line is that Iron Man 3 is a great time at the movies. Though it wasn’t Iron Man, I’m honestly just happy that it was better than Iron Man 2.Iron Man 3is property of Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios. This review was written by me.
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