Review of Iron Man 3 (2013) by Ben B — 05 Jun 2016

Iron Man 3 stars the same people from the last film and adds Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, and Ben Kingsley to the talented cast. Taking place at Christmas time after the events of The Avengers, this is the most personal Iron Man film to date.

Tony Stark begins suffering from PTSD after his near-death experience in New York during The Avengers, and this causes him to spend more and more time building Iron Man suits and figuring out ways to keep himself and Pepper as safe as possible.

During this time, a villain called The Mandarin (played by Ben Kingsley) begins addressing the world about his terrorist attacks. Once again, this movie received a lot of flack (this time coming from the fans instead of the critics).

Without spoiling anything, there is a change in comic cannon in regards to the character of The Mandarin which made many people angry. However, as a film, I really liked this approach and the movie overall.

As somebody who has endured anxiety-induced panic attacks, I really related to Tony Stark as he struggled with his inner demons, and his character was more human than ever in this installment. The middle act is a little slow, but that's because the movie takes time to actually develop its characters (something lost in other superhero films).

Once again, Tony's relationships with Pepper and Rhodes feel very natural in the way that they progress; nothing happens that doesn't feel out of place in relation to the previous installments.

All of the new cast member additions, especially Guy Pearce, are solid. Shane Black's direction was very sincere, and his decision to make Iron Man 3 period piece during Christmas paid off. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and feel that it has taken a lot of undeserved criticism.

If you enjoy solid writing and real character progression in your superhero movies, this is a must-see.