And in the blue corner, hailing from Oz, theeeeee Tin Maaaaaaan!
You came to the wrong neighbourhood, friend
DIRECTOR: Shane Black
CAST: Robert Downey, Jr. as himself, a woman who generally named her daughter 'Apple', Peter Weyland, Gandhi, Terrance Howard... wait what?, Happy Gilmore and Liverpool FC...
PLOT: The genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist is back for a 4th Marvel outing on the back of 'The Avengers', and now he's quite pissed off with terrorists (Ben Kingsley, et al.) attacking the country while he tries to get over his own demons due to his near-death experience via aliens and a wormhole. However, judging by the trailer (nice house, by the way), 'The Mandarin' might be an even bigger pain in the arse than 'Loki' was.
The third instalment in the 'Iron Man' series, now arguably the most popular superhero in cinema thanks to the ever-charismatic Mr Perfect known as Robert Downey, Jr., has an awful lot of hype to live up to. The first was brilliant, the second not quite as bad as people like to make out, it simply fares worse due to the fact that the first one was such a delightful surprise, and 'The Avengers' went on to become the highest grossing superhero movie ever made. But now Marvel's golden boy (not literally) is back on his own as the others go on holiday or do whatever demi-God's and super soldiers do in their down-time, and leave our dear 'Tony' to deal with his own problems. Just try and block out the fact that had one of 'The Avengers' had 'Stark's' back, let alone all of them, then the villains in this would have probably been vanquished so quickly that your shawarma would still be warm. By the way, I'd love it if someone could tell me how that tastes.
The writing, probably the weakest aspect of the second 'Iron Man', is returned to the top drawer, perhaps receiving a surge of inspiration from Joss Whedon's brilliant script for 'The Avengers'. Downey, Jr. does what he does best more than ever - throwing out zingers and cocky lines that would be agitating if recited by anyone else. Not many actors could get away with calling an eight-year-old boy a "pussy", but this is the same man who punched a child in the face in 'Due Date', so Downey, Jr.'s continued hatred for children shouldn't come as a surprise. It's rather become a quirky feature. It's reasons like these that often make 'Iron Man', in general, more fun in the 'talkie' scenes than when he's blowing shit up
The new narrative strand exploring anxiety in 'Stark' had myself worried that the makers would suffocate him of all of his light-hearted and effortless wit, and do what every sequel these days seems to do - make it unnecessarily darker. The decision actually works to the film's advantage though, and adds even more depth to 'Stark', reminding us all that underneath the suit lies a human being, albeit a very impressive one.
Another thing that the second 'Iron Man' arguably lacked was a credible villain in 'Ivan Vanko' due to poor scriptwriting and character development, which is a crying shame even more so as Mickey Rourke's talent is heavily wasted. Also to follow on from Tom Hiddleston's exceptional 'Loki', it meant that there was a huge amount of pressure on Ben Kingsley, the legendary actor tasked with playing one of Marvel's most loved supervillains. We already knew that they were taking a slightly different route from the character in the comic books, for a start Kingsley neither looked nor sounded like he had been born in China - a decision made perhaps to prevent any critics claiming racism, as is sometimes the case with the character in the comic books. Also in the comics, 'The Mandarin' is built like a brick shit-house, something that Kingsley quickly proves that he doesn't need.
A lack of screen-time in the first half means that 'The Mandarin' never really feels like a threat to 'Iron Man'. He doesn't do anything as brash as slicing up his racing car with big energy whip things. We merely see him on dodgy camera recordings with over the top sets as he purrs threats against the US with a wonderful and idiosyncratic voice - the face of terrorism. He serves as a fantastic tool to offer this superhero film more than just an exploration of good vs evil, but also an exploration of the media's representation of terrorism that has made life difficult for a countless number of people living in the western world. Good and evil isn't simply a case of right and wrong, it's not coloured black and white. It's a welcome critique, maybe making 'Iron Man 3' the most political superhero movie ever made, and this is where Kingsley's character is given depth and becomes both interesting and important to the story. A brave choice by the writers, and one that may disengage some viewers partway through the film, who perhaps don't understand the message; but those people are probably simply content with being in Downey, Jr.'s company for over two hours, even if he was only reading them a story from a book.
Downey, Jr. is also given great assistance by his strong supporting cast. Series regular Gwyneth Paltrow is as lovable as ever and given even more to do in this instalment, at times given her time to shine in the spectacular action scenes. Don Cheadle is fun as the 'Iron Patriot', sharing some quality best-buddy chemistry with 'Stark'; a fun part with the two is when they share mockery towards the excessive patriotism of the suit formerly known as 'War Machine'. Ty Simpkins features as a bullied child who 'Stark' befriends, and is actually very likable and confident, one of the few child actors who you won't want to kick off a bridge. And Guy Pearce is a welcome addition to the franchise, taking over untrustworthy sleaze-ball duties from Sam Rockwell's 'Justin Hammer' - he's a good pick, with his doubtless acting ability and a face that is both handsome and a bit funny looking at the same time. Oh, and Stan Lee is given yet another fun cameo - hooray!
The biggest criticism when it comes to character comes in the shape of the difficult-to-kill supersoldiers who are utilised by the film's villain. Like many thugs and cronies in cinema, their motivations for their actions are a bit shady, never fully realised. It's a small fault in the character set-up, and because of the extensive cast which is largely impressive, a small and excusable slip-up is to be expected, one that I'm more than happy to brush underneath the carpet.
Overall, 'Iron Man 3' is a true superhero spectacle, once again proving that 'Stark' doesn't need his team around him to carry a good film after the pot-hole of the second. His wit and charm takes front and centre, and the visual effects and action sequences that compliment the terrific script are magnificent as always. It's surprisingly not only intelligent in the immense script, raising media and political based questions on its treatment of the ideology of terrorism, but never prevents the film from being downright fun, despite combining with the new touchy character trait of post-traumatic stress disorder bestowed upon 'Tony'. In that respect there's something for everyone. This is a fine introduction to the summer blockbusters of the year, and if the rest follow in suit, then we're all in for some entertaining treats. Disney should be doing all they can to keep hold of Downey, Jr. for more Marvel movies, as he continues to show why he is a man marketing mountain.
P.S. Wait until after the credits for a fun, 'Avengers'-esque post-credit scene.
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