Rating of
3.5/4
Iron Man Soars Again
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/04/13
I have to hand it to Robert Downey Jr. - he is the snarky heart and ego-tastic soul of Iron Man and without him, I don't know how this franchise would have succeeded. The second film felt like a step down after the rocking roller-coaster ride the first film gave us. The Avengers proved Mr. Stark worked just as well with an ensemble as alone. Now Iron Man 3 comes around and I'm happy to say, the groove is back.
Iron Man 3 does a lot right - it has great action pieces, the trademark comedy (and attitude) that Downey Jr. brings to the role and even manages to give Don Cheadle and Gwyneth Paltrow some exposition. The biggest surprise in the cast was that Ben Kingsley manged to play both a fantastic villain and, not to spoil anything - a surprising turn that made the role even better. Guy Pearce (who will always remind me of Memento, no matter how many handsome roles he sinks his teeth into) also holds his own as a really hot (and I mean that literally) commodity. Also making a great impression, the young Ty Simpkins, whose interactions with Downey Jr. provide some of the best comedic moments in the film (even if Mr. Stark comes off as a bit of a prick).
The opens in 1999 where Tony, still a playboy at heart, is more interested in the New Year's party (and bedding a budding
molecular biologists Maya -- played by Rebecca Hall) than doing much of anything productive. He brushes off everyone - including a highly nerdy Aldrich Killian (Pearce - barely recognizable as a greasy long-haired, gimpy man with a plan). Only to tell us that the repercussions of this action would come back to haunt him.
Thus we are transported to the present. Tony Stark is having anxiety attacks - and barely sleeping - due to the fallout of the events from The Avengers. He's also building a lot of suits while staying awake night after night. There is a terrorist known as the Mandarin, bombing seemingly at random - but leaving no trace of explosives behind. The War Machine (Cheadle) rechristened the Iron Patriot is on the case. Pepper has moved in with Tony, but their relationship is not exactly healthy. Killian - now a much more handsome specimen, approaches Pepper with a plan for implementing a new technology to map the brain - but she turns him down, fearing the technology is too easy to weaponize. Meanwhile, chief of security Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau - also director of the original film) smells a rat and follows a shifty-looking dude hanging off Killian. His instincts are right on - but he barely survives a human bomb attack.
Thus, Stark takes things personal and dares the Mandarin to attack him - even giving out his address. Of course, this is a bad idea leading to the destruction of his home, the near death of Pepper and Maya (who has shown up with critical information) and his own close call. Thus begins the real story - Tony tracking down the terrorist and figuring out how Killian is connected to a group of military veterans (many of whom have suffered from a case of suddenly blowing up).
But enough of the breakdown of the story - what about the action? Although the movie isn't wall-to-wall action, I feel they pared it out quite well. There are a few good fights, some humorous, others deadly serious - all culminating in an epic finale that is just as good an action piece as you'll see this summer. The action is great - but it is balance with fantastic humor and even decent character development (certainly the end will have some implications for The Avengers 2).
All in all, this is just not a picture-perfect summer movie - or a great superhero film - overall, it's just a good film in general. Sure, the special effects and action may get all the attention, but it's the personalities that drive things - and in this case, those personalities shine. I can only hope the rest of Phase 2 turns out so well (make sure to stay after the credits!).
