IRON MAN 3 – The Review

To reference the old song from TV’s “Schoolhouse Rock”, for superhero flicks three is usually not a “magic number”. Going back 30 years (wow!), the Christopher Reeve Superman blockbusters started their full downward slide with SUPERMAN III (the idea of Supes fighting himself is cool, but Richard Pryor as a master computer-hacker?). SPIDER-MAN 3 was certainly the weakest of the Raimi trilogy with super-villain overload and a dancing black-clad Peter Parker (ugh!). BATMAN FOREVER had Tim Burton handing over the directorial reins to Joel Schumacher with disastrous results (the same is true when Brett Ratner replaced Brian Singer on X MEN: THE LAST STAND). Some fans may cite the change in film makers for the faults of those part threes. Well our favorite “billionaire genius playboy philanthropist” is back with IRON MAN 3, but with a new addition calling the shots. Director of the first two flicks, Jon Favreau, is a producer ( and suits up once again to portray the loveable “Happy” Hogan), but this one’s in the hands of Shane Black, a screenwriter with one directing gig (KISS, KISS, BANG, BANG) on his resume. Can he buck the trend with third movie appearances (not counting last Summer’s smash MARVEL’S AVENGERS) and make our armored hero soar at the box office?

IRON MAN 3 actually begins with a sequence set years before his first adventure. It’s New Year’s Eve 1999 and Tony Stark (Robert Downey,Jr.) is taking Prince’s song about that year to heart. He’s at a science conference in Switzerland, sloshed to the gills, and trying to get botanist Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) alone, with the help of his trusted bodyguard (Favreau). An over-eager fledging tech guru, the nerdy, limping Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), head of Advanced Ideas Mechanics intrudes on the duo’s amorous plans. Tony’s casual cruelty with Killian will come back to haunt him. Zip ahead to now. Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) AKA War Machine has been given a stars and stripes paint job and renamed the Iron Patriot, and is the President’s personal enforcer. Tony’s not sleeping after the traumatic events in NYC last year, so he spends his long nights tinkering in his lab. Thanks to some tiny gadgets embedded just under the skin of his arms, he can summon pieces of his new armor to locate him and form around him like an iron cocoon. He’ll need this new upgrade because a global terrorist titan, the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) hijacks the media in order to broadcast his threatening video messages. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is still running Stark Industries with Happy as head of security. One day she gets a visit from the now sophisticated and successful Killian, who tells her of his new human enhancement invention, Extremis, which can repair tissue. Something about Killian and his driver Savin (James Badge Dale) sounds an alarm in Happy’s noggin. His sleuthing leads him to a tragedy, which puts Tony on a collision course with the Mandarin. After an attack on his home, Tony’s separated from Pepper, and is without his tech and forced to learn the truth about the Mandarin’s operation before his super-powered goons find and eliminate the now un-armoured genius.

Sure, all the CGI bells and whistles make the golden avenger one of the coolest heroes around, but he wouldn’t be here for a third blockbuster if not for the man inside the suit. Downey gets to stretch his acting more than in the second installment (and the Holmes flicks for that matter). Yes Stark is not the cruel jerk before donning the amour (although it’s great to revisit him in the movie’s opening minutes), but his decision to better the world has taken a toll on his psyche. We can almost smell his ‘flop-sweat’ as he endures constant panic attacks. But that snarky sense of humor is still there particularly when Tony is temporarily teamed with a wiley ten year-old boy played by Ty Simpkins (a wonderful dynamic). Tony has to use his high-tech wizardry, even as his state of the art lab/workshop is thousands of miles away, His courage doesn’t come from the gadgets, but from his damaged heart. Said heart belonging to Paltrow whose Pepper continues to be one of the strongest love interests in superhero movies. The chemistry between the two actors is the film’s real emotional weight. Downey also has a great rapport with Cheadle as the highly-trained military man tries to guide the cocky, often physically inept, techie. But what’s an action flick without a great villain? Kingsley has a real dead-eyed banal menace as the Mandarin, who shows a different side in the film’s final confrontations. He’s matched by the cold, calculating Pierce, who’s much more than a science geek who has made good. Hall’s sexy scientist also has lots of secrets, but the talented actress doesn’t get enough screen time to flesh out this role. Terrific character actors William Sadler and Miguel Ferrer round out the film’s exceptional cast.

Shane Black has avoided the part 3 and new director jinx, by giving this film a much darker, sinister feel. He has Tony get into an intense cat and mouse, hand to hand fight scene with the scary enhanced henchmen (and women) who seem to have molten lava pulsing through the veins. They’re certainly more deadly than the Iron Monger (Jeff Bridges in the first flick) and Mickey Roarke’s Whiplash from the previous entry. Black keeps the film rolling at a good pace in between the many effects-laden battle scenes. The attack on Casa de Stark is impressive, but a tense, mid-air rescue is even better. The final fight sequence does go on a tad too long with a main baddie that just can’t seem to stay down, but it’s a minor quibble. When things are wrapped up, the film almost feels like it’s saying goodbye to ole “shell-head”, but we do get a “Bond”-style end title card before another entertaining post credits bonus scene (worth sticking around for). IRON MAN 3 can’t quite much the discovery fun of the first flick, but it’s more consistent than the 2010 follow-up. I hope we’ll spend some more screen time with Downey’s damaged hero in the near future (besides another Avengers outing). We’ll see if Marvel Studios, like Mr. Stark, have a few more fun tricks up their sleeves.

4 Out of 5