5 out of 5 stars (one of the best films I have ever seen, period)
Note: I am aware of the Mandarin’s importance in the “Iron Man” comics, and that the creative choices taken with him ticked a lot of people off. I have never read a comic from this series, but I completely sympathize with those who felt a tad cheated. I personally liked the changes they made, as it added a layer of unpredictability to the narrative. I suggest you see the film if you like the Marvel films. However, upon further analysis, my star rating has gone down to 4 out of 5 stars (one of the best films of the year). Everything I state in the review is still true. With that said, please enjoy my review below.
Threequels tend to have a bad reputation. The reputation is that all threequels stink. Badly. When I saw Iron Man 2, I gave it a good review, but upon re-watching it, there were several things I found wrong. First, the amount of humor was surprisingly low, the move was quite slow-moving, and the climax was straight out of several kids’ action cartoons. (Of course I realized this after I asked for it as a Christmas gift).
Iron Man 3 is written and directed by Shane Black (Jon Favereau is in a small role and serves as executive producer), and I must say that I was amazed by how much I enjoyed it. The comedy is endless and the film has a darker tone then the previous entries. Perhaps the best thing about the film is its unpredictability as well as the fact it’s a thriller. I generally don’t like action thrillers because they try to “relate” to some controversial topic occurring in American society (Premium Rush, for example, basically made the Chinese immigration look evil). Iron Man 3 also relates to a controversial issue: how to deal with terrorism. The difference between this gem and other movies in its genre is the fact that it does it with flair.
At the start, we see Tony Stark (Played with exuberant energy by Robert Downey Jr.) has a few issues. Due to being sucked into a wormhole at the end of The Avengers (sorry for spoiling if you haven’t seen it yet), he has developed both anxiety and endless attention to his suits (he’s on the Mark 42 now). His ever-loyal girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow giving more energy than in the sequel) is attempting to help him with his issues, but, being the self-centered, egotistical guy he is, Tony won’t give her a large amount of leeway.
As bad as Tony’s problems are now, they are about to get worse. A new villain, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley, Hugo) has been terrorizing the US for a while now, and he seems unstoppable. Even after Tony’s best friend, Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle totally owning the character this time around instead of trying to be Terrence Howard) tells him not to challenge the Mandarin, Tony does anyway, literally giving the guy his home address. Tony gets what he wants: a full-on attack (complete with helicopters, missiles, and the like) on Tony’s Malibu home. Since the movie couldn’t possibly go on if Tony died, he escapes in one of the suits… to another state. With the surviving suit out of power, Tony must now find a way to recharge it so he can beat the Mandarin, and save his relationship with Pepper from Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), a guy from Tony’s past who has a serious bone to pick with him.
I don’t know how else to describe this movie: It was AWESOME. It’s kind of like The Dark Knight Rises with more humor and Tony Stark. I was originally worried that this movie would be a copy of TDKR, but my worries soon evaporated. The beginning is slow, but after the exposition is done, the movie skyrockets into pure awesomeness. The three leads seem much more confident in their roles this time around, like they are having fun again. Everything is an improvement on the sequel: the acting, the tone, the story, and, most of all, the humor and wit Tony Stark lost the last time he had a solo movie. I can only recommend this movie to those who have seen the first two and The Avengers. If you haven’t seen them, you will be confused by everything. Also, stay after the credits for a hilarious cameo.
Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Sci-Fi Violence and Action Throughout, and Brief Suggestive Content