Iron Man 3 (2013)
Certified: PG
Duration: 130 minutes
Directed by: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley
KRS release
Iron Man 3 is the perfect opener for the Hollywood blockbuster summer carnival: it is explosive, spectacular, muscular, emotional and exciting, and it still manages to be sophisticated.
The strength of the film lies in seeing Stark battling it out with all the forces that are arrayed against him
Here Marvel takes its superheroes into its post-Avengers phase, or what the company is tagging as Marvel Phase Two. The film sees the departure of Jon Favreau as director, but Shane Black is more than an adequate replacement as he keeps both the style and the tempo of the previous films but delivers a more emotional and cathartic movie than was the second venture.
This film also shows off that Marvel has a game plan – there is a structure to the way it is translating its superheroes from the comic pages to the silver screen. Iron Man 3’s place in this structure is a sort of closure and also a beginning.
While Iron Man will definitely play a further part in this game plan, whether Robert Downey Jr will remain on board is another matter altogether. Having said this, the actor here delivers his best performance yet. He has become one with the character.
Tony Stark post-Avengers has been left all psyched out, a sort of psychological wreck. Enter The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a character that fronts an international terrorist group whose objective is to destroy all values that make the Western world.
Then there is Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) who is developing an Extremis sort of potion/virus that will lead to the creation of the super soldier.
The Mandarin attacks Stark where it hurts: he destroys his home, places Happy Hogan (Favreau) into hospital and kidnaps Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).
The strength of the film lies in seeing Stark battling it out with all the forces that are arrayed against him, he is under siege and it is then that the superhero qualities come out.
Kingsley is slimy, subtle and a show stealer and Pearce is very spot on in his screen presence. These provide Iron Man with more than suitable opponents to test his mettle and to have us rooting strongly in his corner. Meanwhile, Paltrow is given more to do than in the previous films.
Black, who had directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), that had starred Downey Jr, and wrote Lethal Weapon (1987) and The Last Boy Scout (1991), brings a lot of flash and thunder but also wit, humour and sarcasm.
He has also brought back to life Downey Jr’s career after it had seemingly spiralled out of control.
Black takes his time to build the film’s set-up, thus ensuring that there is a good foundation on which to then catapult the audience into the action.
The film has several spectacular sequences, including the destruction of Stark’s home, the battle with the Extremis soldiers, a mid-air rescue and the battles that involve Stark without the armour.
These are scenes that Black handles superbly and are designed to leave you breathless.
Firmly in the Marvel tradition, never leave your seat before the credits roll up. Iron Man is back with a metal vengeance.