Iron Man 3

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The release of Iron Man 3 brings fond memories for this film reviewer.

Unfortunately, not the memory of visiting the cinema on my twentieth birthday and being blown away by the impressive first Iron Man, but being so disappointed two years later by the sequel Iron Man 2. 

After watching the storyline drearily wander from one dull, tedious set-piece to the other like an arthritic turtle, my mind was filled with alternate story-lines  character arcs and witty one-liners that I thought could have vastly improved the insomnia-curing opus. I got to a laptop, began typing and the final result was the very lengthy review found on this website.  (Feel free to give it a read if you have a day off work) 

My opinion still remains that IM2 is the weakest of The Avengers’ prequels and a lot of hope lay with IM3 to 're-energise' the Stark name.

It needed to ‘spark’ more interest.

It would need to ‘jump-start’ the road to The Avengers 2.

As well as …ahem… ‘battery’ the Hollywood competition.

Anyway, Iron Man 3 takes place a few months after the events of The Avengers, with Tony having moved back to California and continuing to improve on his Iron Man suits, but apparently to the point of obsession. He cannot sleep, buries himself in his work away from girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and begins to suffer from anxiety attacks when anyone mentions his brief visit to deep-space that occurred in the Battle of New York.  But malice has begun to surround Tony Stark and threaten the closest to him.  An emerging terrorist, The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), has begun to attack America and threaten the President; a once-ignored competitor and a once-spurned lover have joined forces to bring new threats to Tony; and Pepper may be getting tired of Tony’s fixation on his dangerous alter-ego.

Now, one of the many things missing from IM2 was an interesting and exciting plot. Thankfully, this is an area where IM3 has vastly improved. The film features much more humour and action that a 'popcorn movie' like this requires, and whilst some sections and plot twists may not make much sense, you forgive the film for such ridiculous spins as it has entertained you so much up until that point. You even start to warm towards that typical Disney-fied smart-mouth kid that Tony encounters.

But where the film really excels is the personal journey of the man inside the iron suit. Tony starts off mentally suffering from the New York attack, and it just starts getting worse for him. 

(NERD ALERT) 

I have been waiting for the writers of the Iron Man films to start shifting towards the dark, alcohol-fuelled descent of Tony Stark that was quite popular in the Iron Man graphic novels. I don't mean to try and direct the Marvel films to be more like the style of Christopher Nolan and his Dark Knight trilogy, but I feel like Stark's personality is so typically flippant and light-hearted, a move towards the dark part of Tony's life would be a smart move. Stark is such an interesting and conflicted character that to go deeper into his psyche is only a good thing.

Thankfully the side-characters are utilised much better than in the first two films. Previously, 'Rhodey' was Tony's right-hand man in dire times, but in IM3 Pepper also has grown to become more than a damsel-in-distress, holding her own in tough situations and Paltrow is finally given some credible acting-time in this film, even if she does quickly return to being the damsel that Iron Man must rescue.

As well as Pepper, Tony's best friend 'Rhodey' is also finally utilised properly. So far, his role has been simply sit back, alternate between looking like Terrence Howard and Don Cheadle and moan and gripe whilst flying around in one of Tony's suits. However, the director Shane Black's previous experience with buddy-cop action films seems to have had influence on Stark and Rhodes' partnership and I feel the film genuinely benefits from it, as they finally feel like a real team.

When it comes to the villains, I can't love Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley enough.  Even if they may not be as memorable as Mickey Rourke's Whiplash or imposing as Jeff Bridge's Obadiah Stane, they both bring their personal swagger and charm to both roles, despite Kingsley looking like a less suspicious Jimmy Savile crossed with Bono.  The only problem would be the film's lack of Rebecca Hall who plays Guy Pearce's deputy. She is a great talent who is under-utilised and pushed to the side, sometimes literally by Stark, and she should have had a more pivotal part to the story.

The film overall moves along with a steady and exciting pace, leaving enough room for character development along the way. I just wish there were more. Like I previously mentioned, delving deeper into Tony's background and emotions would make him even more three dimensional and empathetic, but hopefully that will carry on in future Marvel films. Even though I felt like the final fifteen or so minutes of the film were unnecessarily saccharin and sweet, I had to realise with Disney in charge of these films, I'll have to get used to seeing these kind of denouements and appreciate the fantastic first two hours before the obnoxiously sentimental finale.

Saying that, if Star Wars: Episode VII features two hours of light-sabre swinging action, then ends with Yoda and Chewie leaving Andy as he goes off to college, to go live with a new kid at the day care centre, I might shed a tear. Hang on, I think I got mixed up...

Rating - 8/10