It’s May, and you know what that means? It’s time for another superhero blockbuster. Here we have the long-anticipated Iron Man 3, the third installment in the Iron Man film series and the first installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universes’s “Phase 2”. This is the beginning point for the buildup ofThe Avengers 2, which is expected to be released in 2015 by Disney and Marvel. Robert Downey Jr.returns as the charismatic and compelling Tony Stark, the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. And mechanic, as this film puts it. This time, Jon Favreau did not take the director’s seat, although he still returns in his role as Stark’s driver-turned-head of security Happy Hogan. Instead we have Shane Black, who is mostly known for writing Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2, The Last Boy Scout, Last Action Hero, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and for also directing the underrated Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which also starred Downey Jr. during his comeback stage. Black’s technique is using clever usage of pop culture references and self-referential humor when writing dialogue. A lot of that shows in the script for Iron Man 3, which Black cowrote with Drew Pearce. The film is loosely based on the “Extremis” story arc from the comics, written by Warren Ellis, and the original characters created byStan Lee (who does have a cameo appearance), Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby. However,Iron Man 3 is not quite one of Black’s strongest works. Much of this has to do with the plot surprisingly meandering in unexpected directions and not being as strong as I had hoped.
The film opens with a narration from Downey Jr., much like in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: “A famous man once said ‘We create our own demons.’ Who said that? It doesn’t matter. Now two famous guys have said it. *Pause* I’m gonna start again.” Then the logos for Marvel and Paramount show up with the song “Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65 playing; a rather unusual choice. At that moment, I knew the film would be taking a much different approach then the previous two Iron Man films. The opening scene takes in Bern, Switzerland in 1999, where Stark, Hogan, and Stark’s then-love interest Dr. Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) are attending a New Year’s Eve party at a hotel. Now apparently Dr. Hansen has been developing a biological enhancement treatment called Extremis, which allows those with crippling injuries to be regenerated. During the party, a disabled scientist named Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), an obvious mimic of Jim Carrey as Edward Nigma in Batman Forever, meets Stark and offers him a proposal for a new gadget and possible partnership with his company Advanced Idea Mechanics, or A.I.M. But Stark turns him down.
Cut to present day, which takes place a year after the events of The Avengers, where Tony Stark is not only having anxiety attacks from battling aliens in New York City, but is strongly losing his ability to sleep. Because of this, he spends his days building multiple Iron Man suits and creating friction with his girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). His best friend and military liaison Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) is now the Iron Patriot instead of War Machine. The name was changed for a better image and the suit got a red-white-and-blue paint job. During this time, a mysterious terrorist who calls himself the Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley) has launched several bombings on American soil which leave people confused and unable to identify the causes. He’s an Osama bin Laden-like figure and leader of the Ten Rings, the group that captured Stark and held him captive in the first film. One day, Happy Hogan becomes a victim in one of these attacks and Tony Stark realizes he has to come out of seclusion and face the Mandarin. And how does he do this? By publicly giving away his home address so the Mandarin can make his move. A stupid choice made by supposedly a smart guy. Of course what a shock, helicopters gunships arrive and launch missiles at Tony’s house, while he and Pepper are there.
Both are able to escape, but as Stark puts on his damaged suit to battle the helicopters, his A.I. system J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Bettany) programs a flight plan which ultimately brings him to Tennessee, where he teams up with a ten-year-old boy named Harley (Ty Simpkins) to recharge his suit as he tries to figure out the location of the Mandarin as well as discover the truth behind the bombings. It turns out that there may be some connection between the bombings and the two people from the New Year’s Eve party years ago. Killian is now a handsome and successful businessman who has put Extremis into usage, and Dr. Hansen is now working for him. They are, however, someway connected to the Mandarin. While in Tennessee, as the rest of the world believes he is dead, Stark gets to the bottom of the conflict. He even comes across two Mandarin agents: Ellen Brandt (Stephanie Szostak) and Eric Savin (James Badge Dale), who have both been exposed to the Extremis violence. As the rest of the film progresses, Stark tries to come to grips with facing the truth about the Mandarin, questions his image and multiple suits, and tries to rebuild his relationship with Pepper.
Now without giving too much away, Iron Man 3 undergoes an unexpected plot twist in the middle of the film. The villain will not be what audiences had anticipated, and it will most likely be a disappointment, especially for fans of the original comics. Now I have not read the original comics, but this particular moment in the film made my jaw drop. If you were looking for a deep and darker conflict between Iron Man and the Mandarin, this film will not promise you that. The plot certainly thickens in a sort-of understandable way, but expectations will certainly have to be at an all-time low if you either barely know anything about Iron Man or even if you were mislead from the beginning of the film, or even the trailers. This plot twist is an example of a Shane Blackism. There is some social commentary on creating fear among the American public with media and terrorism as well as a sense of theatricality. In the context of the story, it works to some advantage. But it does not work in these two camps: buildup for the hero vs. villain story and the ultimate payoff. I am willing to dismiss the former, but not the latter.
This brings me to my main problem with the Iron Man film series: the villains. None of the villains in these films have been completely interesting. In my opinion, Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger from the first film has been the most compelling, but still very two-dimensional. Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash and Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer are completely forgettable inIron Man 2. In fact, pretty much all of Iron Man 2 is forgettable, but I digress. Iron Man 3 also falls victim to a common curse among superhero threequels of having too many villains. This has previously been seen in X-Men: The Last Stand, Spider-Man 3, and The Dark Knight Rises. Speaking of the latter, initiallyIron Man 3 did disappoint me in the same way that The Dark Knight Rises had disappointed a lot of people. But after doing some research and talking with my colleagues about the choices made for the villains’ twist in the middle of the film, I would say that a plot turn as huge as that should not have completely ruin the film for me, because it would be a sin for me to not recognize the high points of the film. No, I did not dislike Iron Man 3, so calm down.
What had always made the Iron Man films strong were the cast and action sequences. Everybody can pretty much agree that choosing Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark was one of the best casting decisions ever made in Hollywood, right up there with Marlon Brando in The Godfather, Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds, and Keanu Reeves in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Iron Man 3 proves that not only does Downey Jr. have strong chemistry with Black and his writing, but that he can still hold his ground with his wit, charm, and intelligence (to some extent). Paltrow as Pepper Potts is still great as being concerned but still very strong, but somehow in this film they have her constantly switching from damsel in distress to badass. Cheadle as Rhodey gets more screen time along with more scenes of him in the Iron Patriot suit and he’s always lot of fun. Kingsley actually gives one of the finest performances in the film, Hall is always delightful to see, and Pearce is always welcome onscreen no matter what. Newcomer Ty Simpkins is certain to be a breakout star and proves to be a funny assistant to Stark, but still being able to keep that persona of a real kid. He and Downey Jr. have great chemistry.
As for the plot itself, I will admit that a lot of the structure borrows from The Dark Knight Rises. Here’s the breakdown: a reclusive superhero faces a villain who destroys everything he has and then he’s forced into an unfamiliar area where he needs to repair himself and rise up. But aside from that, what makes Iron Man 3 especially entertaining is the funny banter among the characters and some hilarious one-liners. I give credit to the Iron Man films for not making banter annoying. The humor here is probably the funniest it has ever been in any of these films. Also, the action sequences are impressively put together. There’s the attack on Stark’s house that will keep you at the edge of your seat, there’s a scene where Stark has to save eleven people falling out of an airplane, and the finale where (this was shown in the trailers, so I’m not spoiling anything), the army of Iron Man suits arrive for battle. While we do get an apparent accurate depiction of Stark’s post-traumatic stress, diving into this issue probably could have made Iron Man 3 much more darker and stronger. There are also some plot holes which but are pretty easy to spot. Most of them have to deal with some of the choices Stark makes and the absence of a central element from the previous Marvel films.
So despite the major twist in the middle of the film that nearly ruined everything, I feel it is best to shy away from complaining about the changes and understand more about why they were made. Iron Man 3 still works as an enthralling and entertaining superhero film. Better than the second film, but not as good as the first. It manages to throw in tons of action where it works in keeping you invested and none of the conversations that the characters have will keep you bored. The cast still remains strong along with the funny writing. But the problems mostly deal with just my wishes of a darker and more grander look at this installment of the Iron Man series as well as, most importantly, stronger villains. At the end of the day, it’s Robert Downey Jr. who not only saves the day, but saves these films. As one of the finest actors working today with also one of the best comeback stories in Hollywood, he is the heart and soul of Iron Man. Throwing in some good supporting characters and incredible action to back him up also work to the series’ advantage. So I will say that if you plan on seeing Iron Man 3, set your expectations to low. And when you get to the twists, try to understand why. Because I initially didn’t. Now if I had to pick one more downfall with the film, it would have to be the scene at the end of the credits. Nothing I can say but…weak.
Three and a half out of five stars.
Iron Man 3 is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content.
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