Iron Man 3 not only has to follow-up the immensely successful The Avengers film, but also has to prove that the Marvel Cinematic Universe solo-hero movies won?t be underwhelming to audiences. Shane Black is taking Jon Favreau?s place as director of Iron Man, while the cast is more or less the same. The trailers for the film build it up as grittier, darker, and edgier than any of the other Iron Man films, but arguably only the latter is true. The premise: In the aftermath of the Chitauri Invasion of New York (as seen in The Avengers), Tony Stark is suffering PTSD induced insomnia after nearly dying from going into the interstellar wormhole. A new threat arises in the form of The Mandarin, a hodgepodge of all-and-any threats to the current state of American security. Can Tony overcome his anxiety to stop his new foe? Is this Marvel?s gritty answer to Christopher Nolan?s The Dark Knight trilogy? Will this be the Iron Man movie to finally have a satisfying climax? All these questions and more will be answered on the next episode of The Spectacular Cinephile *cue theme music*.
This is a good movie, but not a great movie. While pacing and the story have been a recurring problem with the Iron Man films thus far, the key to the series has been its character(s), primarily the interesting persona of Tony Stark. Tony Stark?s ?genius billionaire playboy philanthropist? routine has been hindered by the events of The Avengers, and the film depicts it as such; he is now a broken man. While this was also the job of Iron Man 2 by adapting the Demon in a Bottle comic storyline, Tony was still acting the same way he did in the first film. This combined with Black?s directorial tone and style keeps Tony?s internal conflict fresh and it adds a depth to his character. He is now a recluse who has replaced his need to sleep with the need to build more suits of armor, compensating for the revelation that gods, aliens and other supernatural entities exist and he is only a man (also seen in The Avengers). He is anxious and insecure, which draws a parallel to the current condition of the (in-universe) USA. The destruction of New York during the Chitauri invasion left the nation scarred and in fear. Multiple instances of the event being referenced, ?The incident at New York,?? Nothing?s been the same since New York.? The film makes it clear that the events of The Avengers are this universe?s equivalent to 9/11. The massive state of paranoia, anti-terrorism and hyper-security that followed comes in the form of The Mandarin, a Frankenstein of all the possible threats to national security. A cyber-terrorist who makes use of biological and psychological warfare to set off numerous explosions that are responsible for hundreds of American deaths; The Mandarin is Al-Qaeda, Post-WWII Stalin, and Mark Zuckerberg all rolled up in one. As you can see, this film opens up in an epic scale, and Stark lives in a world which clearly has problems external from his own. I can see this as a way to maintain the ?Universe? aspect of the MCU, but it works as a double-edged sword, bringing to mind other questions, ?Where is Captain America during this national crisis? Wouldn?t his appearance improve morale?? Maybe this will be elaborated on in future MCU films, but Rhodes as the Iron Patriot takes Caps place. I also find it jarring that there were no political repercussions from the government commissioned nuclear missile that almost cleared out New York City in The Avengers. The premise of Iron Man 3 is also overwhelmingly applicable to current events, probably being the first MCU film to offer social commentary, a similarity it shares with The Dark Knight Rises (and it has quite a plenty more of those). It?s hard to say if this allegory is intended, but it works for me either way.
As I said before, Tony Stark is a broken man, and Robert Downey Jr. has little trouble portraying that. He still maintains his playful banter with Rhodes and Pepper, but there is something off about him. When he tries to sleep, nightmares about the wormhole plague him. When he faces an obstacle his armor can?t help him overcome he breaks down into a hyperventilating fit. In a world of gods and technologically advanced extraterrestrial life, how can Stark compete? This sense of insecurity that Stark has to face, combined with the new threat of the magically enhanced Mandarin provides for one of the most interesting internal-external dualisms of this cinematic age, if not for a major plot twist that results in a less engaging conflict. The rest of the cast offers little character development.
Guy Pearce?s Aldrich Killian character is pretty bland and has a jokingly weak motivation, which is a decline from Sam Rockwell?s Justin Hammer from Iron Man 2. As for the other villain, the acclaimed Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin is very interesting, and Kingsley?s performance is magnificent as usual (specifically after the twist). Across the duration of the film, Tony meets a young child with a knack for technology. I (probably along with many) rolled my eyes at this seen thinking I knew where this was heading, but the film hilariously subverts it. No need to beware a kid sidekick Iron Man fans. In one scene, Harley (the kid) saves Stark?s life and asks him to take himself on his adventure, but Stark apathetically drives off without him, which had me laughing out of my seat. But as we all know, Tony Stark isn?t a complete jerkass, and he later rewards that kid for helping him (albeit with blatant product placement).
The tone of the film is drastically different from the style of Jon Favreau?s features, and Shane Black averts the darker and edgier feeling the trailers gave off. The film, while offering a potentially serious, socially aware premise, is arguably the most humorous of each of the movies. Expect plenty of mood whiplash, as in one scene Pepper is practically being tortured by the villains, only for it to cut to Tony being held hostage by two thugs, arguing about a certain limited edition Dora the Explorer watch. I can see many people enjoying this, but for me it completely removed the sense of danger and despair the characters were in.
While the plot is escalated to epic proportions, where even the President of the United States has major involvement, the film is still highly character driven and spends a good amount of time focusing on Tony reaching a resolution to his anxiety. It?s about him relearning what makes him Iron Man, in a way very similar to Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight Rises. Both films involve the main character seemingly dying to the rest of the world, and getting transported to an isolated environment with only their intellect as their greatest tool, while their homes are increasingly terrorized by the villain who put them where they are. While the plot seems similar, the tone and atmosphere of the films are on opposing sides of the spectrum, so Iron Man 3 won?t feel the same as watching Nolan?s Batman, and the films are practically incomparable outside of the superficial plot aspects. The film features very little Iron Man, as in Tony Stark actually in the suit and kicking ass (yet another similarity with TDKR), but more than makes up for it in the climax, which also works as the biggest action figure commercial ever to be theatrically wide released. Th film is reminiscent of 70's spy movies and buddy cop films in a sense, featuring scenes where Stark (occasionally accompanied by Rhodes) runs around with only a pistol and a couple of improvised gadgets to take down the bad guys.
As I said before, the underwhelming anti-climaxes (climaci?) of the previous Iron Man films makes this action packed final battle of the ending to Iron Man 3 even more uplifting. The film is also the first MCU film to offer a full resolution to the story, with a stunning lack of sequel hooks and the possible end of Tony Stark?s stint as the human artillery. I am fully aware that this probably isn?t really the end of Iron Man (with Avengers 2 on the way), but if it really were an end to the Iron Man trilogy, it wouldn?t be half-bad.
Iron Man 3 offers quite a different approach from the previous films in the series, but a bland, under-characterized villain and tonal inconsistencies prevent it from truly reaching the greatness the series lacks.
Want more reviews? Read more at speccinephile.blogspot.com [speccinephile.blogspot.com]