(Minor Spoilers Ahead!)
Iron Man 3:
Tony Stark has been suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and extreme anxiety attacks ever since the climax of The Avengers. He is always at work, having to keep himself constantly occupied, causing himself to be isolated from his girlfriend and assistant Virginia "Pepper" Pots, former bodyguard and friend Happy Hogan, and everyone else he knows. Recently, an old acquaintance (who Stark brushed off many years earlier), resurfaces, Aldrich Killian, the founder of the company Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM, which was a terrorist organization in the comics), and co-creator of the "Extremis" program. Tony and Pepper are initially charmed by him, but ultimately feel like he's got something strange going on. That comes into play a little later... Meanwhile, the arrival of gods and aliens on Earth, the death of SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson, and a near-death experience aren't the only things bugging Tony: there have been many other changes in his life. Since his handing over the company to Pepper in the second film, he's getting used to not being in full control. He also has to deal with the fact his best friend Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes (aka War Machine) is getting more press than him because he has gotten a major makeover by the government. They decided War Machine was a little too "aggressive", and revamped him as the "Iron Patriot". (Basically War Machine with a Captain America paintjob, which the film pokes fun at.) But even more upsetting: a new Osama bin Laden-like terrorist known only as "The Mandarin", who claims to be the leader of the Ten Rings terror group (the same group that kidnapped Tony in the first film), has been hacking TV station, spreading his message that America's government is a lying, corrupt system. The Mandarin has also been behind several strange bombings in the past several months. These bombings also follow the pattern of an Extremis experiment gone awry. Could Aldrich and the Mandarin be working together? Tony tries to find out, only to get his mansion blown up, his suits wrecked, his one good suit broken, and Pepper, the love of his life, kidnapped. He must now travel to a small town in the Midwest where a bombing took place, figure out why it happened there, figure out the Mandarin's plans, and fix his suits, meanwhile putting his life back together, which he does by helping out a kid from a struggling family. Now that's all I'm gonna give away because this is a film I want you guys to see for yourselves. It's a highly entertaining film, and one of the best summer blockbusters in a while. This isn't as good as The Avengers, or even the original Iron Man, but it's one hell of a ride. The cast are fantastic. Robert Downey Jr. is hilarious as Tony Stark, as usual. After him publically voicing his thoughts on retiring the character, many fans were worried this would be the last time we see Iron Man. I can guarantee you it's not. It appears Downey Jr. is still having a lot of fun playing the role, and this film explores a side we've rarely seen from him: a relatable side. He's stripped of everything he has, he has to rise back up, and he's humbled by it. Even though he still maintains his douchebag persona and trademark sarcastic humor, he becomes a changed person by the events of the film, and his bond with the young boy is touching, but also provides the film with some great jokes. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as Pepper Potts, and shows us a bad-ass side to her that I don't think many people were expecting. Don Cheadle reprises his role as Rhodey, and is more of a supporting character in the movie, but becomes a major character near the ending. He has some good jokes, and also is a total bad-ass as the Iron Patriot. (But still, I have to admit, miss the War Machine suit.) Ben Kingsley is extremely threatening as The Mandarin. He appears as a distant, cold, brutal villain with no morals or remorse for the crimes he commits. The Mandarin is one of the few villains in superhero films nowadays who seems like a genuine threat to the hero. Now, I'm a big comic book fan, but I'll admit I haven't read too much Iron Man stuff, so I usually base my opinion of the movies off their own merit. I was pretty pleased with how the Mandarin was portrayed here, even though there's one plot bit that upset me. Now, a lot of comic book fans will be enraged with what they do here, and I completely get it. I was even a little upset by it. But I'm glad I can accept this portrayal on it's own terms, not being attached to the comic book counterpart. (I'll discuss this later.) Guy Pearce is fantastic as Aldrich Killian. He is actually a bigger character than you would think, functioning as the supporting villain. He is an evil genius and a wealthy scientist. Rather than posing him as a young fool like Justin Hammer, the writing and directing team decided to portray Killian as a truly threatening force who is not to be crossed. Rebecca Hall (The Town) plays Dr. Maya Hansen, one of Tony's ex's and a botanist who was one of the original Extremis team members. She is good in the film, but her key role can't be given much more detail here because it spoils the movie. Jon Favreau (director of the first two films) reprises his role as Happy Hogan here, being as funny as he was in those two films. James Badge Dale (AMC's Rubicon, HBO's The Pacific, 24, and The Departed) plays Eric Savin, a supporting villain. He serves as "the muscle", a villain who serves as a bodyguard to the main bad guys. Originally a high-tech assassin named "Coldblood" in the comics, he is revamped here as a dangerous, fire-powered Extremis thug. Stephanie Szostak plays Ellen Brandt, another brainwashed Extremis thug. Rather than a sinister scientist like in the Man-Thing comics she's from, she is now a former soldier who was part of the Extremis project. (This is not the only time that the film takes liberties with the comics, as I will talk about in the "spoiler section" below.) Ty Simpkins (Insidious, Little Children, CSI, Pride and Glory, Revolutionary Road, Arcadia) plays Harley, a smart little boy who bonds with Tony Stark. They have really good chemistry together, and I'm glad they chose Simpkins to be the first child to be a main character in the franchise. Paul Bettany reprises his role as the friendly and funny AI system JARVIS. William Sadler plays US President Ellis. Shaun Toub briefly returns as Yinsen from the first film in a flashback. Miguel Ferrer (an actor known for villain roles in cult films) plays the Vice President. Ashley Hamilton appears as Jack Taggert, an Extremis soldier addicted to the Extremis drug. Thomas Roberts, Joan Rivers, and Bill Maher all make cameos as themselves on TV. I enjoy when films like this (the previous two films, and comedy The Campaign) use real talk show hosts and have them discuss fictional events as if they actually happened. Wang Xueqi makes a cameo as Dr. Wu in a flashback. This film is the first in the Iron Man films to not be directed by Jon Favreau, who returned as a producer. Instead, he is replaced by Shane Black. Now, Black is known mainly for his writing credits, including Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and Last Action Hero. He also was a supporting actor in Predator. This is his second film, after writing and directing the crime comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang back in 2005, which also starred Robert Downey Jr. This film remains true to the other films, while also incorporating Black's signature style, include his trademark Christmastime setting. This film, while still being darker than other entries, is also one of the funniest. Black really knows how to slip humor seamlessly into an otherwise dark story. Even though the other films have only taken bits and pieces from comics, Black decided to have the film take a lot of inspiration from the acclaimed story arc Iron Man: Extremis, which recently was collected into a single volume in celebration of the film, similar to what Warner Bros. did last year with Batman: Knightfall in celebration of their new Batman film. In fact, it's reminiscent of how Nolan's trilogy took inspiration from major Batman story arcs. It remains pretty consistent with the story arc. Note the phrase "pretty consistent". The film also packs in a lot of action as well. The action sequences are amazing in this movie. Even though Tony is out of the suit for most of the movie, (let's face it, he's really not in it that much in any of the movies he's in) it's not distracting like it was in The Dark Knight Rises (which was still a great movie) and the epic battle at the end completely makes up for it. The special effects raise the bar for the series, if you look at the credits (which you'll have to see for the after-credits bit), you'll see just how many people it took to make this movie come to life. (Hint: There's a lot.) The effects don't stop with the Iron Man suits, they extend to the Extremis bad guys, and the plane crash sequence. By the way, the skydiving stunt in that sequence was incredibly. Jaw-dropping. It's a very original concept, so I won't spoil it. (Don't spoil the movie for yourself by looking up clips on the Internet, either.) The musical score is great, but a little different, there being a different composer and all. But, something unacceptable about the soundtrack: no AC/DC! Shame on you, IM3! They are kind of like Iron Man's signature band. On the positive side, the little end credits animation sequence was very cool, very reminiscent of a 60's action TV show opening. Now, you may be wondering: Matt, why did you say you were disappointed in the title when this review seems very positive? I'll get to that in the "spoiler segment" below, which, if you're wondering, will spoil a huge reveal in the movie. Iron Man 3, while not being the best in the series, is a fantastic superhero epic, and a great sci-fi/action movie. The action and comedy blend extremely well. The special effects are amazing to look at, and the acting is fantastic. Iron Man 3 will blow you away, and then some. Not in the same way The Avengers or Iron Man did, but almost. 4.5/5 stars.
Notes (non-spoiler): Stan Lee makes a funny cameo on TV as an elderly beauty pageant judge. I will not spoil the post-credits scene, but I will say it's funny, and has a pleasant surprise: a character you might not expect in this movie.
SPOILERS BELOW POSTERS AND LINKS!!!
(Images: digitalspy.com, collider.com, Wikipedia, superfogeys.com, ohmygahh.com, veryaware.com, filmofilia.com, ign.com, imax.com, fanpop.com, imax.com, comicsalliance.com, comicvine.com, fashionnaction.blogspot.com, comicbookmovie.com)
Other reviews I enjoyed:
This one is a partially negative review that contains MAJOR SPOILERS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z-PoNNxXsA
This is a non-spoiler:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GPFd_SLpnc
As far as I can tell, spoiler free:
http://blip.tv/film-brain/projector-iron-man-three-6578031
SPOILER Talk, part II of a review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMDh38dfpVg
Another Spoiler Discussion, offer new ideas on how the film's problems could have been fixed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3KeDPR5VKs
And, if anyone's interested, here are my reviews of the other films, including other Avengers-related movies, all from last year when this blog first got started:
Part I:
http://mattcottermovies.blogspot.com/2012/05/avengers-movies.html
Part II:
http://mattcottermovies.blogspot.com/2012/05/avengers-movies-part-ii.html
SPOILER SECTION!!:
So here it is, the big spoiler that everyone's been alluding to in their reviews, you ready?:
The Mandarin is a decoy. Yes, the threatening, bad-ass villain we were promised turns into a drunken, comedic relief character in the end of the second act, revealed to be a hired actor, oblivious to the fact he is believed to be an actual terrorist. The Mandarin is actually revealed to be Killian. Now, I was confused by this, and many were angered by it. Turning Iron Man's arch-villain of the comics into a joke? But I got it. I was able to roll with it, not being a big Marvel comics reader. But I did some research on the character before I saw the film. It is not only completely different, but I now can completely relate to people who didn't hate the movie per se, but hated that segment in the movie. But I just came to a realization: in early interviews for the film, the Mandarin was said to be a background bad guy, but the trailers started coming out, and portrayed him as a big, bombastic villain, similar to Silva from last year's Bond film Skyfall. (Interesting tidbit: after the credits, you see the text "Tony Stark will return", clarifying this isn't the end of the series, similar to the ending of Skyfall) Anyway, I was confused by the huge terror attacks, because they said he was a more "in the shadows" type of character. Then I got it, he is. If the Mandarin is Killian, and Killian was working from behind the scenes, it totally makes sense. But, I do understand if the movie lost you with that. It didn't bother me that much. The film also hints at Pepper becoming the heroine Rescue, as she does in the comics, at the end when she and Tony take out Killian. The post-credits sequence, if you want it spoiled, is: Tony appears to be at a therapist, telling the events of the film to him, suddenly, it reveals it is Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffallo, who goes uncredited), who has fallen asleep. Tony then starts arguing with him over why he fell asleep, and begins to talk about issues with his nanny as a teenager, Banner then appears to fall back asleep. That is all.
Editorial note: September 15, 2013: The Bluray of this film is being released soon, and the studio released a clip featured on the special features disc: a deleted ending where the drunken Mandarin decoy takes an Extremis drug and actually becomes the Mandarin of the comics! I wish that was in the theatrical version.
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