I DON’T LIKE SHANE BLACK! I think
he’s just a weak movie maker. His early screenwriting credits (the first Lethal
Weapon and The Last Boy Scout) failed to impress me, and even his directorial
debut, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, is a mediocre movie, an interesting idea with
inconsistent executions. So when I heard he was replacing Jon Favreau as
director of Iron Man 3, I said “That’s it! I’m done with Marvel. They have
clearly given up.” So when I finally saw the
movie... It was actually better than I thought. Gasp! Shane Black made a GOOD
movie? Yes, and while Iron Man 3 isn’t as good as installment one, it is a
grand improvement over Iron Man 2.
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.),
plagued by insomniac spells and anxiety attacks after the events of The
Avengers, tinkers endlessly with numerous Iron Man suits he has built in his
spare time, much to the worry of his closest friends, including his girlfriend
Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). In his own words, he’s a piping hot mess. Tony’s
about to get more problems, though, as a terrorist by the name of The Mandarin
(Ben Kingsley) plans to unleash deadly force upon the United States,
specifically with soldiers implanted with a genetic mutation nicknamed Extremis,
which... I’ll be honest, I know what it does, but have no idea how it works.
Unexpected twists happen, one-liners are thrown around, and we get a lot of
epic action.
Even though it’s under a new
director, Iron Man 3 still feels right in line with Jon Favreau’s efforts, and
it does what any great sequel should do. It’s continuing the story, keeping any
rehash either at a bare minimum, or non-existent. It’s something of a refresher
that the first half places so much focus on character rather than on action,
and while the turmoil of Stark is never taken full advantage of, I can at least
respect the movie for what they did manage to accomplish. The balance of these
elements is a respectable approach, although the pacing may not be for everyone’s
tastes.
It’s still the same great characters,
and the same great chemistry between the stars, with Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth
Paltrow giving their best performances for the series yet. The humor, however, is
noticeably inconsistent. Shane Black’s Achilles’ heel is his comedy, which is
what sank Kiss Kiss Bang Bang so bad(ly), but for every forced gag in Iron Man
3, he always made up for it with a good joke, and not only are they good, they’re
hysterical, so that can at least be forgiven. If there’s any one unforgivable
fault with the film, it’s with a certain twist involving one of the villains. I
don’t want to spoil anything, but what is essentially played for laughs is a
disappointment after such epic build up.
But anyway, it’s a Marvel movie,
so what about the action? While it doesn’t compare to the spectacular heights
of The Avengers or Captain America, it’s still Marvel action, which is always
thrilling, visually stunning, and sounds great. One sequence involving Air
Force One is of particular note, possibly being the highlight of the entire
film, but one can’t shortchange the climax, which, even though I was expecting
something grander, is still wildly entertaining in its own right.
Overall, Iron Man 3 is a rock
solid super-flick, and a fitting kick off to the Summer movie season. The Iron
Man series were notable for having served as the main blueprint for The
Avengers universe, and even if they’re not the best of the Marvel universe
films, on their own, they were all such funny, thrilling, fresh films that kept
us entertained and coming back for more. They came out at just the right time,
knew when to pull back, and when to let loose. For what could have been another
disastrous Spiderman 3 or X-Men: The Last Stand, for Iron Man 3 to still keep
the Iron so shiny and polished is nothing short of a great accomplishment.
And as if you don’t already know,
be sure to stay for a hilarious scene at the very end of the credits. The
Avengers 2 can’t get here soon enough.
**** / *****
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