[Movie Review] Iron Man 3 (2013)
Plot Summary: When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
Director: Shane Black
Writer: Drew Pearce (screenplay), Shane Black (screenplay), Stan Lee (comic book), Don Heck (comic book), Larry Leiber (comic book), Jack Kirby (comic book), based on the "Extremis" mini-series written by Warren Ellis
Runtime: 130 min
Main Cast:
- Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark
- Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts
- Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodes
- Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian
- Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin
Review: by Anthony and Lee
Based on the first two movies of the Iron Man franchise and the wild success of The Avengers, we were extremely excited for the release of Iron Man 3. Much to our relief, the film did not let us down. While possibly not the best of the three, Iron Man 3 was spectacular.
What We Liked:
There was some worry after the tremendously fantastic Avengers movie that any other movie that followed would be lackluster; however, Iron Man 3 did not drop the ball. It was all it was hyped up to be.
The story was more heavily centered around Tony Stark than the previous movies, focusing on his insecurities about being “just a man in a suit” and his inadequacies when measuring up to the rest of the Avengers. The character development, instead of being overbearing and boring, was amusing and interesting to watch, particularly in scenes where Tony interacted with his new little buddy Harley.
The movie’s artistic interpretation of the comic’s extremis storyline was spot on, even including several scenes from the actual comic. The big screen recreation was done very well.
It was funny. As was previously mentioned, Tony Stark made a new friend in the form of an adolescent boy, in whom I’m sure Stark saw much of his own adolescent self, Harley. The scenes between Tony and Harley were pure comedic gold. Their witty repartee was genuinely amusing, and heart-warming.
Don Cheadle as James Rhodes continues to be a vast improvement over Terrence Howard. Seeing Iron Man again recently only reinforced this. Cheadle’s scenes both in and out of the Iron Patriot armor were very well done. The acting in general was high quality.
The ending was ambiguous. This is usually a negative aspect in a movie, but we liked that they neither set up for nor destroyed any opening for and Iron Man 4. While it did not make it glaringly obvious that there would or would not be an additional sequel, it certainly left the series open for sequels and cross-overs with the upcoming Marvel Movies.
What We Didn’t Like:
One of the most amusing aspects of the movie, the multiple Iron Man suits, was overly foreshadowed throughout the movie and in the trailers and posters but didn’t even get much screentime. There was so much room for creativity, but they seemed wasted. The different customized purposes weren’t even demonstrated or explained. They definitely could have done more with this, or they could at least not have over-hyped this plot point.
Every superhero has an iconic super villain. The Fantastic Four have Doctor Doom. Spider-man has the Green Goblin. The X-Men have the Brotherhood. Iron Man has the Mandarin. This movie took a classic Iron Man villain, arguably his arch-nemesis, whose intellect rivals that of Tony Stark, whose back story and superpowers are interesting, and didn’t even bother to delve into his story. They trivialized him, and it just felt like a wasted opportunity for utilizing this particular villain.
Summary
Iron Man 3 was flashy, funny, and fantastic — everything we hoped it would be. While certain things could have been done differently or more effectively, it was done well. We left the movie as excited as we were when we arrived, which says a lot. It was thoroughly enjoyable, particularly considering how fearful we were that it would flop.
You can purchase Iron Man 3 on Blu Ray from Amazon here:
Images Courtesy of IMDB
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