Director: Shane Black
Cast: Robert Downey Jr.. Ben Kingsley, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, James Badge Dale
Rating: Rated PG13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content
When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, Stark starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
Pre-Show Thoughts
Following last year's mega blockbuster, "Marvel's The Avengers" was always going to be a tricky thing for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to achieve in its Phase 2 of movies. The Avengers felt to me as much of a finale as "The Dark Knight Rises." The film was a four year accumulation of all these very different characters coming together to fight a global catastrophe. The stakes were raised incredibly high and if Marvel was going to be able to achieve this they had to raise the stakes even higher and that's what they are planning to do with the next Thor movie and next year's "Guardians of the Galaxy" hoping to give the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe and even more wide outreach into space. When I saw the first trailer for "Iron Man 3" I was skeptical of where Marvel was going with this particular franchise. "Iron Man" had been the lynchpen franchise for Marvel since the start and easily the best stand alone movie out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "Iron Man 2" had some problems but was still an enjoyable experience. The trailer for "Iron Man 3" which is being helmed by a different director in Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) seemed to be going the route that all superhero movies are going in a darker and grittier tone. With the first set of movies, Marvel decided to counter part the dark films that DC was putting out especially in the Batman movies by creating more family films and light hearted and the "Iron Man 3" trailer basically looked like "The Dark Knight Rises" to me. They seemed to be taking the humor out for a more darker Tony Stark story. I wasn't sure what to expect with it but I was still optimistic for the movie as since "Iron Man" I haven't been let down by the Marvel movies yet and Shane Black seemed to do a good job with the film action wise which was something the first two films were lacking, I'm hoping that he finally is the one who can strike a balance between story and action and deliver the best Iron Man film yet.
Robert Downey Jr. continues to prove for the fourth time now that he was born to play the role of Tony Stark. He just oozes charisma and charm that make this character such a standout. He also has chemistry with everyone from Don Cheadle to Gwyneth Paltrow. Speaking od Don Cheadle, he easily stepped up his performance from "Iron Man 2" making James Rhodey a more likeable and great character foil for Tony Stark. They've been some rumors going around about giving him a spin-off film and if they keep the character like this in the movie I would definitely be down to watch a movie of his. Gwyneth Paltrow continues to be an interesting character as she is good in her scenes with Robert Downey Jr. but by herself I'm really not that interested in her character and I don't know why. She is a fine actress and fine in the role but something about it was just boring to me when I saw her scenes. Rebecca Hall plays a role of a woman from Tony's past in this was probably one of the more interesting characters in the film and she was also the most under developed and she almost became non exsistent as the film went on. The Iron Man films usually lack a strong villain and Guy Pearce was probably the best villain out of the entire franchise. Guy Pearce has been an under the radar actor for some time and I think this is finally his break out role. He just plays all necessary parts for a comic book villain to a T and was honetyl one of the highlights of the film with Robert Downey Jr., Ben Kingsley was fine as the Mandarin. He wasn't given much as he was more of a background guy but he did good in his role and didn't take away anything from the film.
Following last year's mega blockbuster, "Marvel's The Avengers" was always going to be a tricky thing for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to achieve in its Phase 2 of movies. The Avengers felt to me as much of a finale as "The Dark Knight Rises." The film was a four year accumulation of all these very different characters coming together to fight a global catastrophe. The stakes were raised incredibly high and if Marvel was going to be able to achieve this they had to raise the stakes even higher and that's what they are planning to do with the next Thor movie and next year's "Guardians of the Galaxy" hoping to give the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe and even more wide outreach into space. When I saw the first trailer for "Iron Man 3" I was skeptical of where Marvel was going with this particular franchise. "Iron Man" had been the lynchpen franchise for Marvel since the start and easily the best stand alone movie out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "Iron Man 2" had some problems but was still an enjoyable experience. The trailer for "Iron Man 3" which is being helmed by a different director in Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) seemed to be going the route that all superhero movies are going in a darker and grittier tone. With the first set of movies, Marvel decided to counter part the dark films that DC was putting out especially in the Batman movies by creating more family films and light hearted and the "Iron Man 3" trailer basically looked like "The Dark Knight Rises" to me. They seemed to be taking the humor out for a more darker Tony Stark story. I wasn't sure what to expect with it but I was still optimistic for the movie as since "Iron Man" I haven't been let down by the Marvel movies yet and Shane Black seemed to do a good job with the film action wise which was something the first two films were lacking, I'm hoping that he finally is the one who can strike a balance between story and action and deliver the best Iron Man film yet.
Initial Reaction
After seeing "Iron Man 3" I can say all my initial fears for this film are gone, this film was an incredible experience and might even be the best film in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was a vast improvement on "Iron Man 2" and did a good job of bringing the entire Iron Man trilogy full circle. Stuff that originally was struggled with in previous Iron Man films such as the supporting cast, and story was improved upon. The story did take some turns that were unexpected in the 2nd half that were weird and didn't benefit the film in any amount. The third act as well is where the film feel apart a little bit. They ended up biting off more than they can chew. Even with the weird story elements the film workd so well mainly because of the directing of Shane Black and Robert Downey Jr. who is always perfect as Tony Stark.
Plot (3/5)
While being a sequel to "Iron Man 2" , "Iron Man 3" felt more like a sequel to "The Avengers" instead of "Iron Man 2". The film deals with the aftermath of the attack of NYC and the mental and physical effects that it had on Tony Stark, I liked that they dealt with the avengers because I was afraid that they would blow that off in the film. Also the film deals a lot with the demons of Tony's past in a past encounter in 1999 with two scientists (Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall) that comes back to haunt him 13 years later at the same time a terrorist leader (Ben Kingsley) named the Mandarin who comes onto the scene. The film takes a more grounded approach trading in the high profile nature of the Mandarin in place for a terrorist version of The Mandarin in league with Osama Bid Laden. In the first act of the film the conflict is really well established between The Mandarin and Tony Stark and he comes onto the scene quickly as a formidable opponent. The film features Tony Stark more as Tony Stark and less as Iron Man which many people had complained about but most and foremost this is the Hconclusion of the story of Tony Stark and that is really where the film suceedes bringing his story full circle. The film does something really weird at the climax where the bring in a twist that turns the entire film on the head. Comic book fans will definitely have a problem with it but I feel the general audience will just be turned off on how weird it is. The third act of the film is kind of a mixed bag as while the action and conclusion are handled weird, there are some weird character moments that are featured in the last twenty or so minutes and they even try to retcon the climax twist and it doesn't work in the film. Besides those few weird moments the plot of the film was good enough to keep me thoroughly engaged the whole movie.
Directing (4.5/5)
After Jon Faverau directed the first two Iron Man films this film brings in Director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) to add some much needed life into the franchise and that is definitely what he does. The humor which is a big part of the Iron Man films was ontop of its game in this film as all the characters felt really natural and all got good lines in throughout. The action was also stepped up aswell. There were some really good set pieces especially in the final battle towards the end that looked even better when watching it in 3D. The only real complaint I would give Shane Black with the film is some times the filmed dragged, especially in the 2nd act when there was a lot of exposition quickly to explain everything that had happened instead of letting it happen naturally.
After Jon Faverau directed the first two Iron Man films this film brings in Director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) to add some much needed life into the franchise and that is definitely what he does. The humor which is a big part of the Iron Man films was ontop of its game in this film as all the characters felt really natural and all got good lines in throughout. The action was also stepped up aswell. There were some really good set pieces especially in the final battle towards the end that looked even better when watching it in 3D. The only real complaint I would give Shane Black with the film is some times the filmed dragged, especially in the 2nd act when there was a lot of exposition quickly to explain everything that had happened instead of letting it happen naturally.
Acting (3.5/5)
Robert Downey Jr. continues to prove for the fourth time now that he was born to play the role of Tony Stark. He just oozes charisma and charm that make this character such a standout. He also has chemistry with everyone from Don Cheadle to Gwyneth Paltrow. Speaking od Don Cheadle, he easily stepped up his performance from "Iron Man 2" making James Rhodey a more likeable and great character foil for Tony Stark. They've been some rumors going around about giving him a spin-off film and if they keep the character like this in the movie I would definitely be down to watch a movie of his. Gwyneth Paltrow continues to be an interesting character as she is good in her scenes with Robert Downey Jr. but by herself I'm really not that interested in her character and I don't know why. She is a fine actress and fine in the role but something about it was just boring to me when I saw her scenes. Rebecca Hall plays a role of a woman from Tony's past in this was probably one of the more interesting characters in the film and she was also the most under developed and she almost became non exsistent as the film went on. The Iron Man films usually lack a strong villain and Guy Pearce was probably the best villain out of the entire franchise. Guy Pearce has been an under the radar actor for some time and I think this is finally his break out role. He just plays all necessary parts for a comic book villain to a T and was honetyl one of the highlights of the film with Robert Downey Jr., Ben Kingsley was fine as the Mandarin. He wasn't given much as he was more of a background guy but he did good in his role and didn't take away anything from the film.
Replayability (4/5)
After being nervous of how they could follow up "The Avengers" I was glad to be impressed with "Iron Man 3." The film had great characters, an intriguing plot, with a new director making this a really fresh film a just a joy to watch unfold on the screen. There are some where things in the film but overall if you enjoy comic book movies or big summer action films than you are going to love this moivie like all the other movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I do fear if this is it for the Iron Man films if this film universe can survive without it. They prove time after time to be the best thing these film have and if this is it for Tony and his friends then there abscence will completely be felt once there gone.
Final Grade: 3.8 (B+)
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