Iron Man 3 (2013)

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Iron Man 3 is a rather controversial film.  There is a general consensus that it’s not quite as good as the first but far better than the second.  This is where the agreement ends. It has received both scathingly negative and glowingly positive reviews from critics.  I’m going to try and get to the bottom of this film and give it the most honest and unpretentious rating I can muster.

The Plot *spoilers

Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as billionaire playboy Tony Stark in the third installment of the popular Iron Man franchise.  The witty, if somewhat arrogant superhero is still dealing with the aftermath of the alien attack on New York (as seen in the ultra-popular super film The Avengers).  Despite his crumbling emotional state, life goes on, and terrorism never rests.  America is under a new threat.  There have been several attacks from and infamous and mysterious man known as The Mandarin.  A recurring trend in these attacks is the presence of a veteran soldier and a fiery explosion. 

Stark is distant and withdrawn, even from his girlfriend Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow).  He would rather spend the majority of his time tinkering with new suits in his basement than deal with his anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress.  His sidekick Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle) has taken on a new identity as The Iron Patriot.  He is basically the president’s own Iron Man bodyguard. 

Meanwhile at work, an old acquaintance named Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) has resurfaced, and hopes to form a partnership with Stark Enterprise.  He shows Pepper a fancy 3D map of his own brain and explains his business model.  Pepper snubs him, though compliments him for no longer being a crippled, greasy loser like he used to be.

Don't you want somebody to love?

Aldrich, who was already snubbed by Stark years ago, is visibly frustrated.  He leaves with his bizarre crony who was drawing some attention in the waiting room.  In case you’ve forgotten about Happy, he is Stark’s bodyguard and runs security at Stark Enterprise.  He is a little overzealous in his security detail, and decides to tail the crony.  Unfortunately he stumbles right into the middle of one of The Mandarin’s terrorist plots.  After a brief struggle, Happy is knocked out and left to be devoured by the explosion.  He survives, but is in a coma.  Stark is pissed and issues a threat to The Mandarin, giving away his own home address in hopes of provoking an attack.  He gets what he asked for, but after a couple of war helicopters destroy his property, the unprepared Tony Stark is almost killed.  His severely damaged suit reacts and launches him hundreds of miles away into a forest, (coincidentally near one of the cities where there was a suspicious fiery explosion involving a soldier).  While the world believes he was killed in the attack, Stark attempts to get to the bottom of The Mandarins Plot while still dealing with his undiagnosed mental illnesses.  With the help of a little boy, he is able to rebuild his suit, and learn that Killian’s business is backing The Mandarin terrorist plot.  Oh my!

My Take

This film shows us a new dimension of Tony Stark.  In the previous two Iron Man movies and The Avengers, Stark is shown to be a witty, overconfident man who’s mouth does the talking and advanced battle armor does the walking.  In Iron Man 3, however, Stark spends the majority of the film outside of his suit.  This coupled with his mental and emotional suffering shows us that he is far more vulnerable than he lets on.  People didn’t like this, complaining that there isn’t enough action.  Do you want this series to progress in any capacity or do you want to see the same shit over and over again?  If so than just watch the first Iron Man on repeat and you’ll never be disappointed.  Obviously any normal human would be in shock after the events that Stark has been through, the fact that he is showing his weaknesses reminds us that he is still only human. 

Stark is continuing to improve on his unbelievable and incredible (but mostly unbelievable) technology that has made him a crime fighting badass.  In his basement lie anywhere from 40 to 50 Iron Man suits that he has been modifying and putting party hats on during his sleepless nights, though they seem to be a lot less durable than I remember.  This movie gives us more of what we love about the Iron Man franchise.  It’s funny, it’s got action, it has a decent story, but mostly it has Tony Stark.  Downey Jr. is just as enjoyable to watch outside of the suit as he is in it, proving he is more than just a “man in a can”.  The Iron Man franchise is the benchmark for Marvel Superhero movies and I hope that they can step up their game with the new wave of sequels coming out. 

There are a couple problems with this movie.  Marvel as a whole always seems to have the same problem; a shitty villain.  Loki was ok, though he was laughably outmatched in both movies where he was the main villain.  Other than him we have; Whiplash, Obadiah Stane, Redskull, Lizardman, and were there even bad guys in The Hulk movies?  Anyway all of them were kind of… well shitty.  The Dark Knight is basically the only current superhero franchise to have a reputable villain.  Christopher Nolan brought two iconic comic book characters, The Joker and Bane, to life in unique and very impressive ways.  These two villains left a lasting impression on the audience and even might have had some of us cheering them on at certain points.  They seemed to outmatch the hero, and provided a real sense of dread.  You can’t really say that about any of the Marvel villains,  though you might have felt sorry for Loki when he got thrashed by The Hulk.

Aldrich Killian (despite the many trailers that suggest otherwise) is the main villain in in Iron Man 3 and he is as plain as they come.  A rich businessman whose company creates some kind of potion to make him a superhuman is so cliché.  Driven by greed and maybe a little vengeance he wants to own the war on terror.  We get it, Tony was a dick to you, but come on, you can regrow limbs, do you really need to start WW3 to make your point?

The main reason this film took so much heat was the abuse of the beloved super villain The Mandarin.  Nerds from all around got hard at the idea of finally having a worthy opponent for Iron Man to face off against.  They were sadly disappointed as “The Mandarin” turns out to be nothing more than a face to put to the terrorism.

A drugged up, drunken Ben Kingsly face

 I thought his character reveal was hilarious and worked well, but fans loyal to the comics saw it as utter blasphemy, and it wouldn’t surprise me if this world is short a couple comic book geeks because they were so haunted by what they saw.  For all of those people bitching about the lack of action, how did you feel when Tony had Jarvis activate the “House Party Protocol”?  When I saw the FLEET of Iron Man suits form up, ready to kick some ass, my dick grew two inches!  Those retarded lava people, or whatever Killian was making didn’t stand a chance.

The Verdict

As much as I was hoping to see some kind of Avengers cross over, (even just a little one I’m not being picky) I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

Though this would have been immensely better

Stark, (I can’t believe I’ve mentioned that name so much without even one GOT reference) though mainly suit less and under mental duress, still manages to kick ass in this third and possibly final installment.  Not sure but the ending suggested Tony will be a different kind of hero in the films to come.  I’m excited to see what Marvel puts out this year. 

8/10