Ironman 3 Review

Ironman 3 (2013)

Directed by: Shane Black

Written by: Drew Pearce and Shane Black

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley, etc.

After such an unprecedented and massive payoff with the success of "Marvel's the Avengers", Kevin Feige's fully realized creation of a shared comic book universe on the big screen was able to confidently march forward with Phase 2 of the Infinity Saga.  The Ironman films have been a bit uneven so far with the first being such a superb and inventive start to the MCU back in '08 while the follow-up, Ironman 2, in 2010, was just a decent, if not heavily flawed ride duo to Marvel Studios using Tony's second outing as the metal suited powerhouse to also introduce elements of the MCU like Scarlet Johnasson's Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury returning for a more fleshed out role in continuing to advise Tony about the Avengers Initiative.  Ironman 3 comes a year after the Avengers and became an instant final hit because of that movie's success and audiences/fans of the franchise wanting to know what would happen to each Avenger next.  While Ironman 3 is a slight improvement over its first sequel, it still doesn't hit the glorious high of Ironman 1 once again. :(  Unfortunately, lightning couldn't strike twice with the Ironman trilogy and it's unfortunate when Robert Downey Jr. was so tremendously made for this character! He is definitely NOT the problem here and in fact, tries his best with each film to give us a charismatic, entertaining performance no matter how uneven the script can be at times.  I think the best thing I can say about the 3rd film is that it goes back to be more of Tony's story and character development than the second film's too obnoxious and erratic showcase of Tony's self destructive behavior due to his impending death thanks to his chest injury from the first film.

That film spent most of the character hating and objectifying to Tony's actions before having to save himself and make things right in the end while the villains like Justin Hammer and Whiplash added mostly nothing new to the MCU.  At least here, Tony is given a nice arc here with having to overcome this new world he's been introduced too thanks to Avengers assembling for the first time because of Loki's army of Chitauri attacking New York city.  I love the psychological stress/PTSD Tony is facing from feeling so out of his league compared to the greater threats he now knows that is out there, not to mention nearly dying from going into that wormhole to send that missile through it defeat the Chitauri.  It makes sense and Downey does well with the material that is initially very suspenseful, even intense like during that horror film like scene when one of Tony's newest suits attacks him and Pepper in bed.  Apparently, all Tony has been busy doing is building more and more suits which is keeping him so disconnected from the outside world; leaving Pepper and James worried about what's keeping Tony up and so consumed with his work.  Of course, this has to do with Tony wanting to be prepared with larger than life foes that are out there and could attack the world again as well as wanting desperately to protect Pepper, who is now his girlfriend and they both live together in his Malibu mansion.  It seemed like this would be a much darker and more serious outing for Tonk Stark/Iroman than the last two films, especially when you consider the Mandarin played by Ben Kingsley, is set up to be this infamous, chilling terrorist warlord and leader of the Ten Rings, his terrorist organization all to eager to show the world just how powerful he is and serious his threats are.

But then, after that incredible mansion attack sequence, the film becomes a bit too farcical and treats Tony's trauma more like a punchline than something he must truly overcome to an ever greater hero to stop the Mandarin's plans without freezing up so much.  While it's cute and fun seeing Tony get a little sidekick here with Harley Kenner, a young boy living in Tennessee that helps Tony with investigating more of these random terrorist attacks by the Mandarin.  Robert honestly can have chemistry with ANYONE but this detour into hanging out with his tech savy prodigy doesn't really make the story any stronger and just feels like mostly comic relief for the sake of the movie not getting TOO dark.  And that's what made the movie enjoyable for me as it seemed with Jon Favero leaving directing duty to Shane Black this time after the first two films, this sequel would something that needed to be different to advance not only Tony's arc and stakes, but make the MCU a bit gritty.  But it seems this is when the MCU formula that Joss Whedon introduced so well in Avengers is trying to be follow-up in every MCU movie starting here and it can get a bit much.  Sometimes a scene should just focus on pathos instead of immediately undermining it with comedy.  That's probably one of the biggest reasons people STILL have a problem with Ironman 3 is that it should have taken itself MUCH more seriously, especially when setting up what seemed like it would be the greatest villain so far.  Oh boy, that Mandarin reveal! I guess we should be glad that recently, Marvel rectified that immensely controversial decision with Shang-Chi but still, I remember being so utterly disappointed and even frustrated at them turning the Mandarin into essentially a joke by the beginning of the third act of the film. -_-

Yes, while this movie clumsily and embarrassingly undermines the graphic, intimidating nature of the Mandarin, it is revealed the real villain is in fact, Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian.  Once again, a vengeful scientist/business man out for power and making sure Tony pays for not taking him up on his offer to work together.  He recruits Maya Hansen, a scientist that helps her perfect her Extremis Project, which can harness the bio-electrical energy in the human body by essentially turning them in living weapons with extreme heat projection, incredible strength, rapid speed regeneration of human limbs and literal explosive self destructing bombs.  Not to mention, "You can breath fire?!" lol Yes, Extremis will be used to make more powerful weapons and soldiers for the US army as well as help any soldiers with decapitated limbs that can now be fully regenerated.  But like I said, we seen this time of villain before with Obidiah and Justin Hammer, not to mention Whiplash with the vengeance angle.  Guy Pearce does great work here but not enough to make up for how awesome and riveting the film could have been is the Mandarin was a legitimate threat like the first half of the film presented.  Sigh......  Tho there are some electrifying action sequences here, with some of the most elaborate set pieces yet.  One of course is the mansion attack after Tony threatens the Mandarin and the final battle which takes place on a shipping yard.  How incredible was it to witness Tony's work literally helping him while trying to desperately save Pepper's life.  Each suit having its own set of skills and tricks to fight off the Extremis soldiers that surrounded Tony and Rhodes.

Then there's that Air Force one sequence of Tony having to save a bunch of crew members and it is intense as well as so well staged, even directed by Shane Black.  As for the other characters, Pepper Potts is as entertaining as ever and even when she's in peril this time around as Tony tries to continues save her, she ultimately shows she's no pushover and can take care of herself.  Don Cheadle returns as Colonel James Rhodes and is as awesome as ever.  He doesn't get much to do until toward the third act but it's nice to see Rhodes getting more attention as his own type of iron clad superhero in the Iron Patriot.  Yeah, apparently War Machine is a bit too much for a serving Colonel.  Don really sells those action scenes as we get to now only see him in a suit again but just being a badass army man with tremendous skill on the field.  Going back to the fight scenes, I enjoyed seeing Tony using his genius and ingenuity when he couldn't use his suit and had to make his own arsenal of home made weapons to take out guards at one point like a spy. LOL  But even so, the way the Ironman suit is used here is very effective and almost ingenious as well with how Tony calls for it in battle to assist him even when he may not even be in the suit himself. I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect of the film.  Also, Happy Hogan doesn't have much to do here this time around....which makes me wonder why Jon would step down if his character is being used the least here but I'm sure acting and directing at the same time is still too much work even if not onscreen as much as your costars.

"In the end, Ironman 3 is sufficient enough to keep fans of the MCU entertained and still invested in the cinematic universe as at least it's interesting to see a more foreboding, sinister tone for some of the film but it just ultimately gives way to the whole main plot being disappointing and something we've already seen before in the previous Ironman films.  The Iron Legion making an appearance during the final act wasn't bad tho and there are some genuinely funny moments here.  But this movie is structured like some really intense, character deepening film as Tony even monologues over very tense visuals about the consequences of his actions but his journey's end doesn't feel as fulfilling as you think. But oh well, they'll be MUCH worse solo hero installments to come so......"

Final Film Score: B-