IRON MAN 3

   

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi violence and action throughout, and brief suggestive content

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley
Written By: Drew Pearce and Shane Black
Directed By: Shane Black



A VERY IRON MAN CHRISTMAS
Review By Andrew Shuster

The Christmas movie season has arrived! Excuse me, the summer movie season has arrived, only if you didn't know better you might think you've time jumped to the holidays with the Yuletide themed Iron Man 3. As inexplicable as the setting is for a May release, it actually fits quite nicely with the tone of the movie. Bringing Christmas cheer is only one of many ways that this tongue-in-cheek summer blockbuster shakes things up.

Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, managing to elevate what is already pretty solid material. The film opens on Christmas Eve 1999 where Tony is wooing botanist Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), more interested in bedding her than listening to her pitch on the plants she's producing that contain healing properties. That same night Tony meets Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), the inventor of an experimental new substance called Extremis, which can regenerate new limbs and heal the body, but comes with a price due to some unwanted side effects. Aldrich hopes to sell his product to Stark industries but Tony leaves him stranded on the rooftop as the New Year rings in. It's no surprise that Aldrich will reappear with a vengeance, as there's a reason why Guy Pearce is in the movie, and such an insult to an already unstable man is the perfect recipe in creating a super villain.

Back in present day, Tony is suffering from panic attacks as a result of the alien invasion he dealt with in last year's The Avengers. For whatever reason it took Aldrich 14 years to plan his revenge as Tony had some other foes to deal with in the two previous installments. However, his timing is impeccable due to a shaken up Tony Stark who's normally cool-as-a-cucumber. In a seemingly unrelated dilemma (but is it?), an international terrorist has emerged going by the moniker 'The Mandarin' (Ben Kingsley) who's already enacted numerous attacks on America and promises more to come.

The plot and its logistics have never been a strongpoint with these films but it hardly matters. All that needs to happen is for Tony's enemies to raise the stakes, giving him the need to suit up and save the world, and this film's villains do just that. While it takes a while in introducing the new characters and their dynamics (the first action sequence doesn't take place until about 30 minutes in), once things kick into gear the rest of the movie is an exciting ride.

The second act feels more like a James Bond movie than a superhero film, with Tony globetrotting for clues as to The Mandarin's whereabouts. Ok, Chattanooga, Tennessee and Miami aren't quite as exciting as the locales that Mr. Bond visits but Tony manages to get himself into equally thrilling dilemmas.  One of the nice things about this aspect is that we get to see Tony out of the Iron Man suit more in this entry than any of the others. Making him vulnerable as opposed to invincible adds another layer of tension and danger. Being that Downey Jr. is the best asset of these movies, it's much more satisfying to see him in the flesh as opposed to enclosed in a metal suit. His undercover operation/"Bond"-inspired  infiltration of a mansion in Miami outdoes any sequence in the last couple James Bond movies.

There's a great plot-twist in the ultimate reveal of who The Mandarin really is. Comic book purists may be angry over the complete derision of the character from his origins, but I can't think of another comic-book movie that has handled a super-villain quite like this. No spoilers here, but it's like something out of an Austin Powers movie. I can't quite get into Ben Kingsley's performance without approaching spoiler territory, but I will say that he's both sinister and hilarious. Guy Pearce is a serviceable and competent bad-guy but not quite on par with Jeff Bridges and Mickey Rourke, the Iron Man 1 & 2 baddies, respectively. He doesn't ham it up quite as much, but provides a sufficient danger nonetheless.

The always solid Don Cheadle gets plenty to do and does it well, and for the first time Gwyneth Paltrow is allowed in on the action, not merely delegated to damsel-in-distress. She's still often in distress, but this time around we get to see her "suit up" once or twice which is quite interesting. I smell a spin-off. Iron Woman anyone?

Director Shane Black takes over the reins from Jon Favreau, the helmer of the two previous films, although Favreau returns in a supporting role as Tony's longtime bodyguard Happy Hogan. For the first time the irony of that isn't lost on the screenwriters, "People laugh in my face when I tell them I'm Iron Man's bodyguard", says Hogan. Black injects a much needed new energy into this franchise giving it a different feel from 1 & 2, and making for a film that works just as much as a stand-alone as it does a sequel. With only one previous film to his name, 2005's Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, also starring RDJ, Black handles this big-budget extravaganza like a pro. Black is most well-known as a screenwriter having penned such films as Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout and Last Action Hero. For the few people who saw Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, they'll know it's a clever send-up of the film noir genre. Last Action Hero parodies the action film. Black is clearly a movie buff who enjoys skewing the conventions and cliches of a genre but at the same time reveling in them. His approach makes this the most self-aware movie of the Iron Man franchise, as if to say "We know this is silly, but just go with it". Black is known for his Christmas spirit, with the holiday being implemented into his other films in one way or another. Perhaps this entire time he's been lampooning Die Hard, the mother of all action movies, whose Christmas setting was so integral it almost served as a supporting character.

The third act is full-on excitement with an attack on Air Force One giving Iron Man the impossible (or is it?) task of saving a dozen people plummeting to their deaths. The final set-piece occurs at a construction site making great use of the props and heights such an environment would contain. A superhero movie needs to go out with a bang and this one doesn't disappoint.

This is the best Iron Man outing to date and perhaps the best Marvel Production yet. While it doesn't have the exuberance or non-stop mayhem of The Avengers, it's a preferable change of pace. Impressive as it undoubtedly is, being bombarded with too much spectacle can become wearisome and desensitizing after awhile. Tony Stark is an interesting enough character that some downtime with him is welcomed. Sometimes all you can ask for is a fun time at the movies, and this ridiculously entertaining summer blockbuster delivers. Iron Man 3 succeeds on all fronts, being a legitimate superhero movie, all the while toying with the genre. It has its iron and eats it too.