Iron Man 3 came out in April this year and it would be a tragedy if I never came to review it before the end of the summer movie season. That being said, let's go..
Iron Man 3 is the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that is set after the events of the Avengers. The movie, like the first Iron Man film, is not a direct prequel to the Avengers storyline, so has to be a strong stand-alone film in order for it to succeed. And I think it is.
The characters in this film are all dealing with the events of the Avengers which give the plot of the film more substance and relevance. Hit hard by the events of the Avengers in particular is our hero Tony Stark. The man nearly died when sending a nuclear missile through an alien worm-hole, tell me that's not traumatic! I liked how they play on that as one of the story arcs of this film.
As for Robert Downey Jr's portrayal of Tony Stark, the guy has got it bang on! He has a cool, narcissistic nature with a brilliant sense of humour. The day this man is no longer a part of the Marvel movie set up will be an incredibly sad day for humanity. He's just a great actor in all fairness. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as Pepper Potts and I really dig the relationship between them. It's cute, believable, they can banter back and forth. It's handled very well indeed.
Guy Pearce also appears in this movie. Granted this man can act and in this movie he was ok. His character in no way shape or form stole the show, but for what the plot demanded him to do he did well.
Don Cheadle was good in this movie like Iron Man 2. Want this guy to be in the Avengers Age of Ultron if possible!
As for Ben Kingsley, he is surprising. Unexpectedly, the man has to play 2 roles in this film, both of them very different. This is just testament to how good of an actor he really is.
The plotline itself has a few story arcs going on but, unlike Iron Man 2, it isn't saturated with them that it makes the movie more convoluted than it needs to be. I like how they incorporate scientific elements in this film as well as some military elements. It's definitely the most comic-booky (I know that's not a word) of all the Iron Man films. All these elements mix well to make an interesting first few acts of this movie.
Then we have the infamous twist. This is, as you would imagine, going to determine the rating I give this movie. I am not a huge fan of Iron Man comic book lore. Therefore, I can role with the twist. It's shocking, unexpected and in my opinion is a good thing to help tell the story. If you can't role with the twist, you won't like the movie. Just saying. It was very bold of the studio to do something so risky that would divide the fans in this way!
And what would a good comic book movie be without the action scenes? You've got some good ones in this film; the slow motion shots when Tony Stark's house is getting obliterated by missiles, the scene where Iron Man has to catch 13 people when falling from 20,000 feet as well as the epic final battle, where there are dozens of Iron Man machines flying around. Its so entertaining seeing Tony Stark get out of a destroyed Iron Man suit and then jump of a ledge into another one.
I didn't notice any shaky cam, which was good. The special effects are all used well as well as are the varied sound effects. I don't know why but I'm a huge fan of all of Iron Man sound effects. whether it's the sound made by missiles before they are fired or the clank of his metal suit. The cinematography is sound as well.
As for negatives, there is a lot that goes on in this film. It's quite fast paced as well. Its probably not the best casual watch, but one you need to lock yourself into to understand all that is going on. Guy Pearce's' character may also be a weak link, but other than that I had a fantastic time watching this movie. I liked it a lot! There is just so much to like about this film plus if you can role with the twist that essentially "divides the fans" ,it's even better.
For what it is, a popcorn action movie of Summer fun, Iron Man 3 succeeds in its job. It does exactly what it sets out to do. There are some huge flaws with this movie but its still an enjoyable time in the movie theatre. I would rate it like this:
Rating - B
1 sentence summary - If you role with the twist, this is an absurdly entertaining, popcorn movie with an interesting plot and an awesome protagonist!
The elements of this movie that I have just spoken about all work so well together that I can't help but really like this movie. Ultimately, it is unnecessarily risky but it didn't effect me at all so I'm cool with it..
Have you seen Iron Man 3? What did you make of the twist? Comment below if you fancy it.
Thanks for reading and be sure to read my other reviews.
Thanks again,
Matt
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