Movie Review: IRONMAN 3

The first Iron Man movie changed the way comic book adaptions were made. It (for better or worse) began the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" that climaxed with The Avengers. This is the first marvel movie to be released after The Avengers, and in many ways it proves that the series is still going strong, however, it is far from perfect.

Cast
Robert Downey Jr.,Gwyneth Paltrow,Don Cheadle,Aldrich Killian, Ben Kingsley

Directed By

Shane Black

Writing credits
Drew Pearce & Shane Black (screenplay)

Stan Lee (comic book)
Don Heck (comic book)
Larry Lieber (comic book)
Jack Kirby (comic book)

ACTING: 8/10

The acting from the main cast members is great. Robert Downey Jr. continues to be the perfect Iron Man, I just can't imagine a better suited actor. His comedic timing is perfect, and he allows Tony Stark to be lovable while being a total jerk. Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle don't get a ton of screen time, however, they are wonderful when they do. Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce, and Rebecca Hall are all fantastic and underused. The rest of the cast is perfectly adequate, however, there seems to be a theme of casting great talents and completely under using them.

WRITING: 3/10

This is the biggest failure of the movie. The comedy works well (partially thanks to Robert Downey Jr.) and the action scenes are good, however the plot hidden behind the popcorn fun is plain awful. I 

have never really liked movies that deal with "super soldiers" and "protecting the president," and this movie deals with both badly. The technology written into the series continues to become more and more ridiculous. And the twist is both easy to predict and manages to reduce the main villains role to nothing. Finally, the scene after the credits is a bit of a let down as it gives no hint towards the direction of the series. 

DESIGN: 6/10

The design is just as good as previous films in the series, which is to say that it fits somewhere between satisfactory and slightly above average. The tech looks great despite its lack of plausibility, and the wardrobe and sets fit the overall tone of the movie. 

EFFECTS: 10/10

The CGI is near perfect in this film, and there is a ton of it. There are scenes where Iron Man's suit magnetically attaches to Tony in separate pieces and it looks totally convincing. The explosions and impossible technology looks great too. 

MUSIC: 4/10

The soundtrack in this movie is awful. Hans Zimmer has inspired many with his booming and electronic score for Inception and the Batman franchise. This concept has been replicated a hundred times since those movies, and in lesser hands it is nothing but a loud mess. This is the case with Iron Man 3. The score is loud and booming, and completely forgettable, dull and repetitive.

VERDICT:

This movie is mindless, unimpressive, forgettable, action packed... and thoroughly enjoyable. It is a great summer blockbuster popcorn movie that will leave your mind as soon as you leave the theater. That being said, if you liked The Avengers and Iron Man 2, you will likely enjoy this movie as well. Overall, I give it a 4/5

The thing with Iron Man 3 is not that it's bad, it's actually enjoyable and quite good as a whole, but after following up The Avengers, it feels as if it's a little bit of a let down.

Iron Man 3 picks up right after The Avengers, with Tony Stark experiencing post traumatic stress disorder from the events of that previous movie. When a terrorist calling himself the Mandarin, who is like Bin Laden's evil twin, starts wreaking havoc, Tony Stark embarks on a manhunt to bring the Mandarin down.

The returning cast is all exceptional, with Robert Downey, Jr., once more anchoring the film with equal parts wit, charm, and heart. The new cast members, from Rebecca Hall to Guy Pearce, are all good, but none of their characters are really quite as charismatic or as likable as the returning characters, or the supporting characters from the previous Iron Man movies for that matter (I personally miss Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer). As for Sir Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin, he turns in a really great performance, but I'll just say this, if you're a fan of the comic books, you will be flat out disappointed by this representation of the Mandarin. Let's just say Marvel really let one of Iron Man's most iconic villains slip through the cracks here. He could have been as awesome of a villain as Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, but Marvel just wasted the brilliant set-up for the character.

While the film often struggles to justify why this movie is the perfect follow-up to The Avengers, Iron Man 3 excels in asking the central question: Is Iron Man the suit, or is he Tony Stark? This is the most character centric of all of the Marvel movies made thus far, and in that arena it does not disappoint. I would wager at least 90% of the movie, Tony Stark is without his Iron Man suit and is having to save the day using just his wits, this leads to the greatest moments of the film where Tony Stark crash lands in small town Tennessee and recruits the help of a young boy to get back on his feet again. These are the moments where Iron Man 3 feels the most true and authentic to what I think Marvel and director Shane Black were going for, unfortunately the script often feels the pressure to make this a Summer blockbuster and therefore flips back into relentless action mode without ever truly giving a definitive moment where Tony gets over his PTSD. Plus, am I the only one that thinks the way Tony's suits fly around and attach to his body is getting a little ridiculous? Sure it looks cool, but come on.

When it's all said and done, Iron Man 3 is a worthwhile Summer blockbuster, featuring inventive action sequences and some genuinely funny moments, but it doesn't quite measure up to the previous three movies featuring Iron Man. As is evidenced by the brilliant post- credits scene, perhaps it's best just to only make more movies starring Iron Man when he's playing with the rest of the Avengers.