Iron Man 3

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Rebecca Hall, James Badge Dale, William Sadler, Paul Bettany (voice), Jon Favreau, Ty Simpkins, Miguel Ferrer
Directed by: Shane Black
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) faces his greatest threat in The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a deranged terrorist bent on destroying him.

Review:

Tim: I'm going to say quite a few negative things about Iron Man 3, so I want to stress up front that this is actually a really good movie. It's solidly made, features a great cast, and was well directed by Shane Black. This is a good movie, and another success for Marvel. That being said, the expectations for this franchise were so high, especially after the stunning The Avengers, that there was bound to be a level of disappointment with this film. While this is a good movie, I expected a whole lot more.

Let's start with the biggest complaint about the film, and one that is not uncommon- the Mandarin twist. I suppose I understand why this was done, but it was such a misguided, awful decision. I'm still in shock that anyone thought this would be a good idea. It took three films to finally get Iron Man's greatest nemesis, the Mandarin, and they landed a great actor like Ben Kingsley to play him- I was stoked beyond belief, convinced that Iron Man 3 could be the best film of 2013. And then the twist occurred, and I was deflated beyond words. What a major disappointment, and what a tone deaf move by the normally brilliant Marvel. Average moviegoers might have enjoyed it, but any true comic book fan had no choice but to be hopelessly disappointed in the decision. That nearly ruined the movie for me.

Trying to look past this disaster, I admit that there is a lot to like about this film. It's obvious that this movie is significantly more about Tony Stark than his alter ego, Iron Man. He spends significantly less time in the suit. While I love his suit time (and do wish he had a few more scenes in it), I understand the desire to focus on him as a character and develop him. I can't fault those involved for that. I liked that this movie tried to put character first- that is a plus. It gives us some very good scenes. I loved the interaction between Tony and the little boy, played brilliantly by Ty Simpkins. Tony had some hilarious lines, and I really enjoyed their exchanges. By focusing more on Stark, we had more time for scenes like this.

Downey is once again excellent as Tony Stark, a role I sincerely hope he keeps playing for a very long time. Gwyneth Paltrow was good as Pepper, although I have to admit I thought her story arc (especially the conclusion) was extremely weak and misguided. Ben Kingsley, we won't speak any more of him (I will say that hearing his delivery of the line, "You'll never see me coming" still gives me chills). I like Guy Pearce, but it's frustrating that we keep getting these two-dimensional techno villains in this franchise- first it was Jeff Bridges, then Sam Rockwell, and now Guy Pearce. They are basically interchangeable and it's disappointing. Pearce was fine, but his role left a lot to be desired. Overall, though, the cast works really well together.

While I was disappointed with the Mandarin and the ending (the climax felt silly and very unrealistic), I still had a lot of fun with this film. The Air Force One skydiving scene was pretty cool, and the writing in the film was quite strong. There were a number of really funny lines. Overall, I thought this film was very good, but it's still easily the worst Iron Man film yet. That's not how you want to start Marvel's Phase Two of its Cinematic Universe. This film was good, but needed to be better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Avengers