Last year “Marvel’s The Avengers” kicked off the Summer Movie Season and ended-up becoming 2012’s highest-grossing film, earning over $1.5 billion worldwide. This year “Iron Man 3” has the honor of launching summer. And while it’s not as much fun or exciting as that mega blockbuster, “Iron Man 3” is the most emotional and action-packed entry in the series.
This third Tony Stark saga has an interesting framework – Stark is actually telling the story to an unseen (until the end) person – and therefore to us. And things begin before Stark became Iron Man, in what is actually a prequel of the first film. It’s New Year’s Eve 1999, and Stark meets a botanist named Maya (played by Rebecca Hall) and Aldrich (Guy Pearce), a wacky scientist looking to get Stark and Maya to join him in his experimental work on regeneration. Tony snubs him and admits, in his narration, that he made an enemy that night.
Fast-forward to present day (and Christmastime for some odd reason) and Stark is doing what he loves best – building new Iron Man suits. He’s now up to 42 of them! But he’s not been the same since the chaotic battles in New York City that took place in “The Avengers”. Girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) can tell that too. Tony can’t sleep and is suffering from anxiety attacks. And there’s a new evil force in the world who needs to be dealt with.
The Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley) has been terrorizing the world, with the United States (and the President) as his main target. So Iron Man and War Machine (now called Iron Patriot and once again played by Don Cheadle) are called into action, but saving the day this time will be tougher than ever.
It’s also clearly becoming tough for the filmmakers at Marvel to keep this franchise fresh. “Iron Man 3” starts out pretty rough. The first half hour is rather corny and awkward, from the brief backstory to the misadventures of Tony’s former bodyguard turned Stark Enterprises Head of Security, Happy Hogan (reprised by Jon Favreau). And one of the stronger elements of the first two “Iron Man” films – the light comedy – is a weakness this time. There’s only a few funny lines, but Stan Lee’s cameo, and one by Joan Rivers did get a chuckle out of me.
Favreau, who directed the first two “Iron Man” films, decided to turn the reigns over to Shane Black, best known for working with Downey, Jr. on 2005’s “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”. Black delivers a film that looks amazing, with fast-paced, well-staged, well-shot and perfectly edited action scenes.
“Iron Man 3” is probably the most serious of the franchise. The Mandarin – an Osama bin Ladin look-a-like – makes for an effective villain. Many of his scenes are pretty intense. And there are a couple of effective, dramatic moments in the script. A subplot involving Tony’s relationship with a young boy, thankfully, isn’t too preachy. And there’s a nice plot-development twist about halfway through that works – as long as no one tells you about it before you see the film.
As for the cast: Downey, Jr. can do no wrong in this role. He IS Iron Man. Paltrow shows that not only is she “the most beautiful woman in the world” (according to People magazine), but that she can handle an action scene or two. And Pearce and Kingsley are solid in their bad guy roles.
“Iron Man 3” is rated PG-13 for all the action/violence. It’s appropriate for kids 12 and up. It’s not my favorite “Iron Man”, but it certainly doesn’t disappoint. And it does leave you laughing. Be sure, as I always remind you, to keep watching until the end of the credits for what is the funniest scene of the film.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Iron Man 3” gets a B-. The next scheduled time we’ll see Tony Stark is in “The Avengers 2” in 2015. The next Avenger movie is “Thor: The Dark World” in November.