Iron Man Three Review

Tony Stark meets Johnny Gossamer. God, I wish they sold this masterpiece.

Saying that Marvel Studios had a tough act to follow this year is a bit of an understatement. Not only was The Avengers the highest grossing superhero movie of all time, but it also deserves the honorable title of being the highest grossing film not directed by James Cameron. Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ended with a bang. But because money, the wheel continues into Phase Two, offering up the potential for some new superheroes, as well as to allow some new filmmakers to step into the comic book movie pot. And since Marvel needs to make sure Phase Two starts successfully, they began by returning to the original source of their universe's success: Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr. is perfectly cast as Tony Stark, so much so that I never want to see anyone else play the role (despite the inevitability that it will happen, as producer Kevin Feige has already speculated on "James Bonding" it once Downey has had his fill), and director Jon Favreau served up a great comic book movie in his own right back in 2008. However, the 2010 follow-up, Iron Man 2, was more problematic. While still being eminently watchable and entertaining, the sequel was stuffed with forced Avengers tie-ins (to the point of feeling like a 2-hour commercial for it at times), subplots, weak villains, and a rather skimpy amount of action. Needless to say, after this, Favreau decided to back out of directing the third film. However, in his place, a far more exciting filmmaker was selected: Shane Black, writer of the first two Lethal Weapon movies, and director of the underseen and underrated buddy-crime-comedy, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Downey was the star of the latter, and it is credited as one of the movies that helped resuscitate his drug-hindered career, so it was only natural that Black be in the running. And now, we finally have the beginning of Phase Two, Iron Man Three (as Black refers to it in the end credits sequence). My response to the movie itself after the jump.

This looks... familiar.

As the above picture implies, yes, in some ways, Iron Man Three is the Tony Stark version of The Dark Knight Rises. Both films attempt to bring both the plot and arc of the character full-circle, and to tie up the loose ends from previous films. However, Black's interpretation of this fulfillment of the character's story is quite a bit different from Nolan's, as I will explain. 

SPOILERS AHEAD. TURN BACK IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM, OR READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK. THOU HATH BEEN WARNED.

From the Marvel fanbase, Iron Man Three has been receiving quite a bit of backlash, particularly for three reasons: the alterations to the source material (in particular, the film's interpretation of Iron Man's archenemy, the Mandarin), a recurring focus on comedy over superheroics, and the lack of Iron Man action. 

When it comes to the first caveat, I totally understand for hardcore Iron Man comic fans, but I am not one of them; as such, I have no emotional attachment to their interpretation of the Mandarin. On the whole, I found the reveal of Ben Kingsley as drunken actor Trevor Slattery to be a genuinely surprising and hilarious twist. Really, when "the Mandarin" first appeared, looking like the most generic copycat terrorist ever, started talking about a bombing in Kuwait, and then awkwardly muttering "I... I did that", you didn't suspect something a little fishy was up? Yes, I know some people wanted Tony Stark to duke it out with ten magic rings, but that wouldn't have fit with what Black was trying to do here.

For the second and third angles, I present this definite, inarguable fact: Iron Man Three is a Marvel Studios movie filtered through the lens of Shane Black. It's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with superheroes.

It's got all of Black's fingerprints on it: the Christmas setting (Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), the buddy cop/action-comedy formula (Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2, The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), the Johnny Gossamer-esque pulp mystery style (again, see the above poster), and the goofy comedy. And all of this is then thrown into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Tony Stark dealing with PTSD after the events of The Avengers, and bringing back the question Steve Rogers asked him in that film: "Big man in a suit of armor. Take that away, what are you?" At the time, Stark wittily answered "Genius billionaire playboy philanthropist", but that question may have hung on him. And thus, the central question of Iron Man Three is posed: Does the man make the suit, or the suit make the man? And by the end, we have our answer. Which brings me back to my two latter points. In regards to the overabundance of comedy, that question is not only answered by Black's style, but by the fact that the movie was mis-marketed. Don't believe me? Let's check out that first trailer from last October again:

Yep. A little darker than the final film, ain't it? This trend continued all the way until the film's release, where people were basically blindsided by the overabudance of Blackisms, from the goofy one-liners to the Riggs-n-Murtaugh relationship between Tony and Rhodey. Same goes for Harley, the kid. Normally, the introduction of the kid would be a kiss of death, but Ty Simpkins is no Jake Lloyd, and Tony's rather frank and rude treatment of Harley circumvents the normal pitfalls, making the kid's precociousness funny instead of grating. As for the lack of Iron Man action, that would run counterproductive to the film's themes. By keeping Tony in Tennessee, and having him solve the mystery of the Mandarin like a Johnny Gossamer, they make him a real hero, as opposed to just a narcissist in a power suit. There still is Iron Man stuff, like Tony's visually stunning rescue of the passengers of Air Force One, as well as the spectacular shipyard climax, it's just not the focus of the movie. As for the complaints about the Extremis soldiers tearing off Tony's armor (when Thor, a demigod, only managed to bend it), the Mark XLII and his Iron Legion were mostly prototypes that he was still tinkering with. His original seven suits (the ones he built and used during Phase One) were all destroyed in the helicopter attack. The power levels are still a bit off (as they were in The Avengers, where a gamma-powered Hulk was able to toss Loki, another demigod, around like a rag doll), but it never gets in the way of the overall movie. 

The actors, are, of course, great, as they always are in the Marvel Studios fold of films. Downey delivers what may be his most complete performance as Tony Stark yet, one that only affirms his vital importance to the character, giving us his snarky and vulnerable sides, sometimes at the same time. Gwyneth Paltrow is given more to do here than she ever has as Pepper, and while it may not be up to her previous performances in the role, she sells the more interesting bits of this outing (Super Pepper). Don Cheadle proves me wrong, with a far superior performance to his bland outing from Iron Man 2. By giving him and Tony a buddy-cop dynamic, they overcame the weaknesses of the character, allowing Cheadle to overtake Terrence Howard from the first film, and making Iron Patriot (despite not being as cool a name or look as War Machine) pretty damn cool. Guy Pearce has the toughest role of the film, as the biggest weakness of Iron Man Three is the lack of depth from Aldrich Killian, the true "Mandarin" and the film's real villain. However, it says something that I don't even mention the film's real villain until way late in the review, as there just isn't much there. Killian basically wants revenge on Tony just for leaving him waiting out in the cold. And while some weak argument of his "desperation" is presented later, I just never understood the quantum leap from meek, disabled nerd to Extremis-enhanced douchebag. For sure, Pearce's douchebagginess is entertaining as hell (especially when Killian's creeping on Pepper), and that part where he breathes fire is the single greatest moment in cinematic history, with Ben Kingsley as Slattery going "Oley, oley, oley oley!!" running a close second. Here's a picture, just to refresh your memory of the moment where Aldrich Killian from Warren Ellis' Extremis meets the Mandarin meets a Fin Fang Foom:

Seriously, this is AMAZING. Screw the haters on this one.

But, yeah, as I said, Killian's motivations just aren't that convincing. Neither are those of the Extremis soldiers (other than Stephanie Szostak's Brandt), despite James Badge Dale also being an entertaining glowing douchebag. Though I do appreciate the attempts to fit in Coldblood and Firepower, two obscure Marvel villains who probably otherwise would never have seen the light of day on film, making them into glowing monsters doesn't entirely work. As for Maya Hansen, she's probably the weakest character in the film. She was the secret villain of the entire Extremis story arc, and she's basically wasted here. Her motivations change twice, and she dies like a punk, thus robbing us of any emotional investment in her character. I honestly don't know why they bothered to cast Rebecca Hall, as a far less exceptional actress could have done the same job she did for way cheaper. Apparently they cast Jessica Chastain first, which is even more insane. In general, the villains are by far the weakest part of the movie, as they have been in both previous Iron Man films (Jeff Bridges' Obadiah Stane was interesting until he became a generic evil robot pilot, and Mickey Rourke's Whiplash was quirky but completely ineffectual).

As for the technical stuff, Brian Tyler's score is excellent. Tyler's a great composer who's been stuck in the doghouse until now, scoring movies like AVP Requiem and Battle LA, and he establishes himself here, not only crafting a great soaring theme for Iron Man that's he's been sorely lacking until now, but also giving us the backdrop for Black's virtuoso end credits sequence, the fantastic 60s-Batman-esque "Can You Dig It?". See here: http://www.hypable.com/2013/05/07/iron-man-3-end-credits-sequence-officially-released-in-hd/ . John Toll's cinematography also crafts my favorite look for an Iron Man film yet, far more bright and colorful than the more streamlined work from Favreau's films. 

My verdict: Iron Man Three is the third-best film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, after The Avengers and the original Iron Man. It's a BIG step up from Iron Man 2, and may be the most cleverly funny superhero movie ever. Ben Kingsley is easily the best thing in the film, as he plays both shades of his role so damn well. Black was an inspired choice, and other than some weak villains (and the curious lack of S.H.I.E.L.D., which Feige said will be explained in the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier), this is a rollicking good time at the movies. It comes highly recommended.

Iron Man Three gets an 8.5 out of 10. 

I'll see you again in Phase Two come November, with the release of Thor: The Dark World.

Also,  Mark Ruffalo showing up was pretty cool.