Review of Iron Man 3 (2013) by Brett C — 27 Jul 2014

With the Iron Man series and MCU sparking a powerful lead-up, Iron Man 3 had no option but to succeed.

I must confess that Iron Man 3 is not the most satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. One of the problems I had with Iron Man was the fact that despite introducing the MCU it focused obsessively on Iron Man and failed to offer much in the way of characterization to anyone around him. While Iron Man 3 makes a valiant effort to capture the internal conflict of Tony Stark to the point that it exceeds the standard of characterization set by the series thus far, there is still a sense that the film loses sight of both the larger scale of things around it as well as the genuine fun which characterizes the MCU. The ambition of screenwriters Shane Black and Drew Pearce was to pursue a more character-oriented thriller than an overblown spectacle, and though it is admirable that they would take the series in a different direction it is a little too detracted from the generic contract of the series. I had a similar problem with the following year's Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) as it was not until Captain America: Civil War (2016) that the series would find a balance between politics, characters and spectacle. Iron Man 3 presents the series with a step closer to that as it progresses into more adult territory which is certainly admirable, but it also gives the film a slower pace. If the makers of Iron Man 3 desired a film which focused on character then they would have to do something with a character other than Iron Man, but it's most certainly not something they completely accomplished. It's not a bad film, it's just that Iron Man 3 repeats many of the mistakes made by Iron Man without the refreshing new material which sparked so much interest and credibility in the original. Given that the writers had to butcher the fidelity of the notorious character the Mandarin for the sake of creating a narrative twist, its clear that character prioritization is not the strongest point of Iron Man 3.

On top of that, the action is spread out far too much. There is actually minimal Iron Man iconography in the film. I mean, if you tuned into Iron Man 3 at a point within primarily the second act it would be a real challenge to ascertain for sure that the film is an Iron Man film. For much of the film I actually forgot that I was watching a film in the Iron Man series because Shane Black got too caught up in trying to make a smart film that he forgot to make all that much of a fun one. Shane Black is a man with a good taste in comedy so the film is not completely bereft of it, but for the man who made the hilarious Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) to take something from a franchise already recognized for its humourous nature and turn it into a film which prioritizes being a legitimate thriller more than anything is a concept which really goes over my head. Viewers will discover that there is a lot of waiting around for the action to happen in Iron Man 3, but the majority of the time it is just a lot of talking. There is an extremely brief flare of action at the beginning of the film which is too small in scale before the film manages to sink it down even further during the second act where we see Tony Stark and a gun without an Iron Man suit. In actual fact, the action doesn't really kick in until 95 minutes in where everyone finally begins to fight. By that point the damage has already been done, and it really makes me question how the film managed to end up costing a total of $200 million when that is meagre $20 million less than the budget of The Avengers (2012) which was so much larger in spectacle and ambition. As intellectual as Iron Man 3 attempts to be, it isn't smart enough to justify financing that huge and so I really have to wonder many things about the production. The final action scene of the film displays a lot of competence in the imagery which is supported mainly by mere production design and scenery up until that point, but with all the awesome explosions and actual fight choreography that plays out in the final scene it just makes the rest of the film less enjoyable for not capitalizing on it. In short, Iron Man 3 benefits from the style of Shane Black's direction and his sophisticated approach to the material, but it comes at the expense of the film's status as a comic book film. The one thing I can consistently commend about Iron Man 3 is the musical score. In his debut for the Iron man series, legendary composer Bryan Tyler establishes the first truly great musical score of the series. He gives the film a memorable tune which is then manipulated into several styles and moods so that the viewer can never notice any similarity. And even when they do, the quality remains too impressive to complain about. He moderates the volume of things perfectly so that the dramatic mood is always grasped, and when the battle rises he eclipses his tenacious skill and shoots it straight at the ears of audiences with brilliant results. Bryan Tyler reminds people that he is a real mastermind with Iron Man 3.

With the attempts to wrangle a sophisticated narrative out of Iron Man 3, the actors are given some effective material to work with. None of them take it by storm any greater than the ever-sophisticated Robert Downey, Jr.. Robert Downey Jr.'s performance as Tony Stark is as powerful as ever. Managing to add new layers to the character with every film, Robert Downey, Jr. displays a new edge of darkness in the part of Tony Stark where he introduces a vengeful edge to the character which drives him through a different style of serious material. There is a large weight on the man's shoulders which demands that he carry so much of the film, but his performance is simply the finest part of it all because audiences witness the character in his grace and his weakness. The image of him dragging the Iron Man suit through the snow with nothing but a string characterises him as a man so consumed with his own genius that he has become over reliant on his creations rather than the mind that built them and builds a new drama to the heart of Tony Stark. And he doesn't have to be in the suit to kick ass this time since we see him putting up a fight with his own physical skills as well as grasping a pistol with confident determination. Robert Downey, Jr. keeps the glory of Iron Man 3 alive even when others cannot, and it effectively keeps the life of the film active.

Though few other characters in Iron Man 3 get much relevance, Don Cheadle is a standout once again. Within his few minutes of screen time audiences get to witness the badass nature and banter that glorified his presence in Iron Man 2 (2010). He is a comic delight every time he is around. And though his interactions with Robert Downey, Jr are brief, but the two really make an awesome duo who relay a chemistry not unlike that shared with Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Don Cheadle does his part in Iron Man 3.

Gwyneth Paltrow manages to maintain an effective limitation on her drama which prevents her from falling into melodramatic sentimentalities and gives her the right to stand as a legitimate character. Ben Kingsley adds some effective humourous elements to the film and Rebecca Hall is always welcome. Guy Pearce also boasts a credible effort with an effective combination of sophisticated manipulation and raw sadism in his role.

Iron Man 3 finds Shane Black so obsessed with creating a legitimate story that he neglects the need for a decent quantity of action or any other characters to actually care about, but amid the slowly paced story is some powerful dramatic themes and a stunning performance from Robert Downey, Jr.