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In addition to serving as the third installment in the Iron Man series, the events of Iron Man 3 take place soon after The Avengers. Following the success of that film, expectations were exceedingly high of what audiences were to expect in Tony Stark’s next adventure. However, Iron Man 3 underwent a number of changes compared to the two predecessors, particularly Shane Black replacing Jon Favreau as director and judging by the trailer, it had an eerie and more personal touch to it. Considering the changes compared to the film’s predecessors, Iron Man 3 is a fantastic installment into the trilogy and is another Marvel triumph.
Director Shane Black’s deliverance of creative humour and dialogue in his debut feature Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2005 was displayed once again in Iron Man 3. The character of Iron Man/Tony Stark has been the central source of the trilogy’s black humour throughout the past two Iron Man films and The Avengers. So, particularly through this character, Black’s style of dark humour worked. However, in terms of Iron Man 3’s narrative structure, it appeared somewhat flat on occasions, particularly in the middle. Without giving too much detail, the story has a Dark Knight Rises concept behind it and the repetitive structure creates a distinctively flat and more predictable touch.
Just like every Marvel film, the visual effects and action scenes are key points as they embark audiences into it all and, consequently, raise a high level of excitement. While specific effects and action sequences are impressive, there are some that appeared either mindless or forced. Particularly in the unique climatic build-up, the inclusion of several technologically-controlled Iron Man armouries as well as Stark and Rhodes, it became very clear that it forcibly aimed to be as intense and exciting by throwing these characters on the screen. Quite frankly, they didn’t even need to be included at all. Despite this, it was great to see Iron Man and War Machine/Iron Patriot in action again and to be introduced to new characters.
Although previously stated that the story of Iron Man 3 felt a tad flat on occasions, it exposed characteristics of the Iron Man character that had not been portrayed in the predecessors or The Avengers. Iron Man 3 illustrates the character as vulnerable, not an all-powerful force and more importantly – a closer, personal analysis into Tony Stark. Robert Downey Jr. marks his second collaboration with director Shane Black and once again portrays Tony Stark/Iron Man with a memorable performance. While still an arrogant hero, Downey Jr becomes the most emotional in any film that he’s been in since rebooting his career. Therefore, a little twist was added and we could be in for something extraordinary in The Avengers 2 and possibly Iron Man 4.
Gwyneth Paltrow reprises her role as Stark’s love interest Pepper Potts. Their relationship is tested in Iron Man 3 and on occasions, becomes more important to the story than actually saving the world from harm. In that sense, it added a romantic-drama touch to it. In addition, Don Cheadle returns as Colonel Rhodes with the same War Machine armour. However, the upgraded armory transformed him into the Iron Patriot. While the performance and re-interpretation of character is likeable enough, he is still overshadowed by Stark and new figures. On that note, Guy Pearce’s portrayal of Aldrich Killian was great with a psychotic touch and has a scramble for power, like any comic book villain. As for Ben Kingsley, he easily became the best actor in the entire film in terms of performance. While avid Marvel fans could be disappointed with the twist of the Mandarin character in Iron Man 3, Kingsley’s performance was so exposed, free and unstoppable in relation to Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight.
Thus, while everybody wanted to see Iron Man 3 as a follow-up to The Avengers, we got a superb third installment in the Iron Man series that certainly triumphed over the disappointing second film and has become a solid build-up to The Avengers 2. It was a slight bend compared to other Marvel films as it became less a superhero film but more of a crime-thriller. Nevertheless, Shane Black’s work on Iron Man 3 was impressive and the hopes of a possible Iron Man 4 could be worth taking.
8/10
