Iron Man 3 starts right where The Avengers left off, both in story and hype. While it’s mostly satisfying, I can’t help but feel disappointed. Oddly enough Iron Man 3 is a movie that I can say I mostly enjoyed. But even so, it didn’t quite come close to the high expectations that I had after the rousing success that was The Avengers or from the promise that the film’s trailers so effectively showcased.
Iron Man 3 is helmed by director Shane Black, whose only other film was the severely underrated cult classic Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which also starred Robert Downey Jr (and can arguably be seen as his revival). Considering the disparity between a modest indie with a $15 million budget and one of the biggest blockbusters of all-time, Black made the transition rather well. There are times where you do notice that this is a different film than the previous two Iron Man’s, but I think the film needed a breath of fresh air after the lackluster Iron Man 2.
The theme of Iron Man 3 is that the events in Tony Stark’s past come back to haunt him in the present. Stark is left struggling to transition after the events that took place in New York. He is still scarred by these events, causing him panic attacks and stress that puts a distance between him and his beloved Pepper Potts. He has no time to rest as there is a new threat that emerges with The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and vengeful scientist Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce).
The Manderin catches Stark’s attention after planning a devastating bombing that leaves Tony no choice but to personally call out The Mandarin, challenging him to come to his doorstep. When the Manderin hacks into the television airwaves everywhere and delivers his speeches, it’s chilling and effective. Kingsley gives everything he has in this performance and almost overacts to efficiency. It pained me to see what direction they took with his character and the plot in the 2nd half, completely erasing all he did in the first half, almost to irrelevancy. I was perplexed by this decision, and doubt that I’m the only one with this opinion. This should have been his film, but he is more of an after-thought to Aldrich Killian.
Killian and Stark go way back, but Stark’s failure to realize this is ultimately the catalyst in Killian’s motives. The film begins with a flashback to a 1999 New Year’s Eve party where a limping less threatening version of Killian offers to collaborate with Stark on his new project. Stark coldly snuffs him, leaving Killian with a chip on his shoulder with something to prove. With over a decade between their first encounter and the present, Killian returns with a fully formed version of this project, with the help of Dr. Maya Hansen, a former fling of Stark’s, naturally. That’s really all I can say.
Let’s talk about what the film does well. The action scenes are immense and memorable. I even read that Joss Whedon was so impressed by the sequences in the climax, that he said he wouldn’t know how he could top it in “Avengers 2.” I don’t blame him for being worried. The film has some mind-blowing action sequences such as the destruction of Stark mansion and Iron Man saving people falling out of a plane that are a joy to watch unfold, and something that all fans of summer blockbusters will enjoy.
Robert Downey Jr. gives his usually great performance with more a more emotional reflective approach than we have seen before. He’s still the witty, smart-ass churning out one-liners like it’s nobody’s business, but the events of New York have put him in turmoil, and Downey Jr. showcases this quite well. For the first time we get to see a more rootsy approach to Iron Man as Stark is left solving a mystery in Tennessee/Miami without the Iron Man suit for a majority of the time. This was a refreshing approach that was handled well. After 4 films as Stark, it’s an understatement to say that Downey Jr. owns the role.
Gwyneth Paltrow does a fine job with the role, even showcasing some action chops, something I never saw coming. This is probably her most tolerable performance to date. Don Cheadle seems more comfortable in the role of Colonel James Rhodes, after a shoddy transition for Terrence Howard in Iron Man 2. Guy Pearce is a menacing bad guy as Aldrich Killian and does everything that the role asks him to. Ben Kingsley does a magnificent job as The Manderin with what he’s given, but his performance is tainted by the direction that they went with him. It’s hard to talk about this without giving anything away, but just be aware that it may be good to curve your expectations of his role before heading in.
Plot lines occur, characters come and go, but it doesn’t always come together or add anything. Maya Hansen’s character doesn’t go anywhere, and it’s a shame because Rebecca Hall (who was fantastic in The Town) is underused. There’s a major event that occurs in the films epic climax that could have been more powerful if Black and Marvel were willing to act a bit more daring and colder. It would have left the film much darker, but it would have been a more effective conclusion than the one they went with which felt limp and predictable. Also, there was no note of why The Avengers didn’t come to help Stark. We all know it wouldn’t happen, but it would have been good to at least establish why. I don’t know about you, but I need to talk about the comedy. I know these movies are supposed to be funny at times, but I think Marvel tends to overdo it, especially with Stark. There’s only so many one-liners that you can swallow without it taking you out of the film’s seriousness a bit.
Don’t get me wrong, Iron Man 3 is a wildly entertaining movie. The performances are all there, and Shane Black gives the film a connectivity to the previous two while also putting his own stamp on it. But I left the theater ultimately feeling underwhelmed and disappointed. I felt like with a few different steps in storyline, editing, and execution, this could have been one of the best comic book movies out there. At the end of the day I felt like I got a good, not great, chapter of Iron Man that won’t be looked on as highly as people expected by the end of the summer, as well as the rest of 2013.
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