Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 (2013)
Directed by: Shane Black
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%

Hey, did you know that Iron Man 3 was released last Thursday? You didn't? Where were you, busy writing the Batman/Aquaman fan fiction novella you are planning to unleash on the planet? What I am getting at here is that the Iron Man franchise is a huge deal for both comic book nerds as well as film enthusiasts. The first Iron Man film (masterfully directed by the fantastic Jon Favreau [not the speechwriter]) was such a fun experience and that fun has only been recaptured by Nolan's Batman films (so far). Iron Man 2 was not as good as the first and let's not get into the Green Lantern fiasco. Captain America was good and so was Thor but neither felt as natural and real as Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark/Iron Man. I feel he embodies the role so well because if there is anyone in Hollywood that could actually be Tony Stark, it's Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man 3 takes the beloved franchise and goes in a...different direction. It's not a bad direction it is just...

Iron Man 3 picks up after The Avengers (not sure how long after). Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has settled down with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and is living an almost normal life. He is plagued with anxiety and stress after realizing that there are other beings among us; aliens; gods. He rarely sleeps because he plays his brush with death over and over in his mind. This stress eventually causes a rift between Pepper and himself. The villain of the film, The Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley), has been detonating bombs all over the country in an attempt to "educate" the current Presidential administration. When a reporter asks Tony about what he wants to do about the terrorist, Tony calls him out. He advertises his home address and invites The Mandarin to come fight like a man. His home is later attacked and Pepper is kidnapped. With Tony's home and workshop out of commission, he must recharge his latest prototype suit and make due with the bugs that come with it.

I am going to throw this warning out now...

**BIG HUGE SPOILERS LIE AHEAD!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!**

Ok, now that I have put that disclaimer out there, let's discuss this film. Iron Man 3, while not weak, is not a great film. One of the aspects of the Iron Man franchise that has always intrigued me is the casting. Almost everybody seems to fit their role perfectly and it really adds to the film. Robert Downey Jr. (not sure how to shorten his name...Downey? Downey Jr? RDJ?) brings Tony Stark to the screen as easily as ever before. His mannerisms are so natural that you forget he is playing a role. Paltrow as Pepper Potts is serviceable. I have never loved her portrayal of the character (or maybe I just don't like the character), but she gets the job done. Jon Favreau plays a larger role in this installment as Stark's head of security, and he is great. However, I think the person that stole the show (Robert Downey Jr. doesn't count) is Ben Kingsley. His portrayal as "The Mandarin" was fantastic. I was happy to see that he was able to stretch his comedic muscle in this film. Acting aside, I cannot decide whether I liked or disliked the story. What we have is Tony Stark essentially starting from scratch with a buggy prototype Iron Man suit after his entire workshop (and arsenal) are destroyed. At least that is what we think until he has Jarvis initiate something called "House Party" (or something equally as cheesy). With this, a vault opens at the rubble where Stark Mansion once stood, and out fly a dozen or so Iron Man suits. They all fly to his location as he fights the main villain. The Iron Man suit army takes on the biologically augmented army that Tony is fighting (without a suit). Why in the Hell didn't Tony initiate this reservoir of badassery until then? He dragged his Mark 42 armor through the snow when the battery became completely depleted. He had to break into a terrorist compound using items he MacGuyvered together that he bought at an Ace Hardware. He could have easily said "Hey Jarvis, I'm kinda screwed...can you send me a back up suit or nine?" I understand the reasoning from a plot standpoint. It would've been too easy if Tony had used his backups when the going go tough, but come on. I actually would have been better with an almost retelling of his origin. Have Tony slap together a POS Iron Man Mark 1 suit with stuff he cobbles together, and then fight the army at the end. That'd been a struggle. Also, let's discuss the baddies from the film. The theory behind what is going on is actually pretty awesome but the execution is a little lacking. First of all, the main bad guy henchman is Eric Savin (James Badge Dale) who is actually a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the comics. He is the precursor identity of Coldblood who is a cybernetic organism: living tissue over a metal endoskeleton ;). What they were trying to do here is beyond me. Sure, he isn't in the main stable of heroes but that's kind of like naming a henchman Barry Allen or Frank Castle. The last thing I will rant about is actually kind of a huge deal. In the end of the film, Tony decides to have the shrapnel removed from his body so that he can move on with his life. This also means that he is no longer in need of his electromagnetic "heart" that he has embedded in his chest. He has doctors remove the magnet and we see Tony chuck it into the ocean where his house once stood. He says that the Iron Man suit was a cocoon and that he is a changed man. What does this mean for the franchise? I always understood that the electromagnet that Tony possessed was what powered the suit, however Rhodey doesn't have one and he is War Machine/Iron Patriot. Not sure what it means but it felt wrong.

Iron Man 3 is a lot of fun and is better than its predecesor. While it feels hokey at times, it has a fantastic climactic battle that could only be in a superhero movie. It's really worth seeing the movie just to remind yourself why you love Robert Downey Jr. so much. Also, a scene very similar to this is in it.

My Score: 7.5/10