Movie Review - Iron Man 3
The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) is a shadowy terrorist intent on bombing the US and its strategic outposts, while Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) is a molecular biologist working on the "Extremis" genetic enhancements of dubious morality. Iron Man Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), aided only by his girlfriend and business partner Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and War MachineIron Patriot Col. Rhodes (Don Cheadle) - because without an existential threat to humanity he can't call on SHIELD or the Avengers - must defeat these forces of evil and save the day. All while battling personal demons and insecurities brought about by the events in Avengers Assemble.
It's good comic book fun. There are a lot of great action set pieces, plenty of really cool new things Tony can do with his perpetually redesigned and upgraded Iron Man suit(s), and some very witty dialogue from writer/director Shane Black.
But you have to leave you brain at home. Even within the Iron Man universe established in the first two movies, a whole bunch of things, some little, some not so little, don't make sense. One big issue is that Stark's chest piece seems to have been downgraded from the ultra-powerful "arc reactor" energy source, which happens to run an electromagnet with a tiny fraction of it's possible output and powers his suits the rest of the time, to simply being an electromagnet.
One of the best things about the first two Iron Man films is that, within their own narrative, they were internally consistent, mostly made sense, and had villains with understandable motives. Also, they had an ongoing narrative, in themselves, and as part of The Avengers universe. This one is not like that. I'm still not sure what Killian's ultimate goal was. On top of that, there are [minor spoilers]some fairly gratuitous uses of the Reset Button to maintain the Status Quo at the end, which I found disappointing.
What's weird is that some of the things you probably think are going to be good about the film are the most problematic, and some of the things which sound like they're not going to work, do. For example, Stark having issues and not being able to sleep after the events of Avengers Assemble, which should be great for providing character background and depth, especially in the hands of Shane Black, isn't explored much. Except for the times where he's actually in the middle of a panic attack, or failing to sleep, he's wide awake, full of energy, and doesn't have a care in the world. On the other hand, The Mandarin, who just seems wrong, is probably the best thing in it and worth the price of admission by himself.
Also, Gwyneth Paltrow looks amazing in (and out of) an Iron Man suit.
Go for the big explosions, flying exoskeleton suits, and over-the-top villains, and you won't be disappointed. Try not to expect too much more though.
It's good comic book fun. There are a lot of great action set pieces, plenty of really cool new things Tony can do with his perpetually redesigned and upgraded Iron Man suit(s), and some very witty dialogue from writer/director Shane Black.
But you have to leave you brain at home. Even within the Iron Man universe established in the first two movies, a whole bunch of things, some little, some not so little, don't make sense. One big issue is that Stark's chest piece seems to have been downgraded from the ultra-powerful "arc reactor" energy source, which happens to run an electromagnet with a tiny fraction of it's possible output and powers his suits the rest of the time, to simply being an electromagnet.
One of the best things about the first two Iron Man films is that, within their own narrative, they were internally consistent, mostly made sense, and had villains with understandable motives. Also, they had an ongoing narrative, in themselves, and as part of The Avengers universe. This one is not like that. I'm still not sure what Killian's ultimate goal was. On top of that, there are [minor spoilers]some fairly gratuitous uses of the Reset Button to maintain the Status Quo at the end, which I found disappointing.
What's weird is that some of the things you probably think are going to be good about the film are the most problematic, and some of the things which sound like they're not going to work, do. For example, Stark having issues and not being able to sleep after the events of Avengers Assemble, which should be great for providing character background and depth, especially in the hands of Shane Black, isn't explored much. Except for the times where he's actually in the middle of a panic attack, or failing to sleep, he's wide awake, full of energy, and doesn't have a care in the world. On the other hand, The Mandarin, who just seems wrong, is probably the best thing in it and worth the price of admission by himself.
Also, Gwyneth Paltrow looks amazing in (and out of) an Iron Man suit.
Go for the big explosions, flying exoskeleton suits, and over-the-top villains, and you won't be disappointed. Try not to expect too much more though.