Film Review: Iron Man 3

Director:  Shane Black

Starring:  Robert Downey Jr, Gwynith ​Paltrow, Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley

This review will not contain any spoilers. I will express my thoughts on the spoilers in a different blog for people who have seen the film.

Let's look back at popular film trilogies. In the majority of them there is that weaker installment that stops them from becoming a perfect film trilogy. Terminator 3, Spider-Man 3 and X-Men: The Last Stand are just few examples where the third installment is seen as the trilogy's Achilles' heel. So, does Iron Man 3 fit in the category of mediocre third installments?

As you can tell from the trailer, director Shane Black wants to raise the stakes in the Iron Man film series. He doesn't want to out-do Avengers Assemble but rather the two previous Iron Man films. And does he succeed? Well, in my opinion I would say absolutely.

After the events of New York where the Avengers fought Loki and his army, we find Tony Stark suffering from panic attacks and lack of sleep as well as having relationship problems with Pepper Potts (Paltrow). Things get worse when a mysterious terrorist who goes by the name 'The Mandarin' (Kingsley) who is the mastermind behind recent terrorist attacks becomes a real threat to Tony as well as to the rest of the United States.

Though Iron Man 3 is an entertaining superhero flick Black has succeeded in making it feel fresh.  There are new technical features for the iron suit and the action sequences are not confined to the occasions when Stark is wearing it.  There is a significant section of the film where Stark has to fight without the suit and it feels as though we have jumped straight into a James Bond/Mission: Impossible film but Black still manages to make it still feel like an Iron Man film.

One of the reasons why I found this to be the best out of the trilogy is because of the development of Stark's character. The past two Iron Man movies had Stark as the smooth talking, cocky and self-obsessed millionaire but here we see the character actually suffering.  The panic attacks, lack of sleep and relationship problems with Potts allow us to see a different side to Stark and as a result we feel as though we are watching a new chapter in the Iron Man series. My only criticism of this is that it could have been developed further. It was touched upon mainly in the beginning but not really evident after the first act. 

If you have seen the trailer you will have noticed the darker approach to the story however comedy is still present and this is what I believe to be one of the key reasons why the Iron Man series is so popular.  I will not mention any of the gags because this would spoil your enjoyment of the film, suffice it to say that some jokes received a laugh out loud response from the audience.  The first two films had, apart from a few exceptions, Downey Jr stealing all the scenes and having the best lines but for this film Black and co-writer Drew Pearce share the best lines with other characters, including minor ones.  Adopting this approach in Avengers Assemble is possibly why it is seen as the funniest Marvel film and the same can be said about Iron Man 3 being the funniest in its trilogy.  The character Tony Stark is funny as is the film as a whole.

As well as laugh out loud moments there are also amazingly jaw dropping set pieces.  The two that stood out were the destruction of Tony Stark's apartment and the post-plane crash mid-air scene. Both have you at the edge of your seat whilst not being able to take your eyes off the screen. The set pieces are highly entertaining leaving you not knowing what's going to happen next. The final showdown is also a well choreographed and exciting action sequence, unlike Iron Man 2's short and disappointing final fight scene.

If you have been following the production process for this film you may have realised that this film has a bigger cast than the last two films. When I first saw how big the cast was my initial interpretation was that it was going to be another Spider-Man 3: too many characters used unconvincingly. However, like Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, Black manages to juggle all the characters at once and all have a specific purpose for being in the film. This film also gives Paltrow a chance to further explore the character of Pepper Potts as her character has a more centred role instead of just being used for witty dialogue with Stark.

But what about the villain? How is The Mandarin portrayed on screen? For obvious spoiler reasons I will not talk too much about Ben Kingsley's take on Iron Man's biggest foe but what I will say is for the first hour he stays in the shadows where he makes various broadcasts to the United States. When you watch these scenes you really do feel a different kind of Iron Man villain altogether has emerged, one that manages to send a shiver down your spine. With his chilling voice and sinister and uncomfortable presence I can honestly say that I have not seen a more threatening comic book villain performance since Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Overall this is a very entertaining and funny superhero film with lots of twists and turns that has you unaware where the film is going to take you. If the rumours are true that this will be Downey Jr's final Iron Man film then I would say what a way to end a trilogy. Shane Black's take on the much loved superhero proves that superhero movies are just getting better and better and there is no sign of them slowing down. He also proves, again like Christopher Nolan, three isn't always the tragic number in a film trilogy.