Iron Man 3

How will Marvel's universe ever be the same after "The Avengers"? There's bound to be a vocal percentage of viewers who walk out of "Iron Man 3" thinking, "why didn't he just call his superfriends in the end?" It's a good question, one that Drew Pearce and Shane Black's script doesn't ignore, but never satisfyingly answers. Yet that doesn't seem to matter. The bigger question that Marvel has addressed is whether it could effectively narrow the scope of its universe again after "The Avengers" blew it open—and the answer is yes.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) hasn't been the same since his near-death experience in a intergalactic wormhole at the end of "The Avengers." In fact, the words "New York" have become a trigger for his newly discovered anxiety attacks. He has spent his funk by building an inordinate amount of Iron Man suits, and specifically a remotely operated suit that he can summon through a biological tracking system. When a terrorist named the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) emerges, hacking U.S. airwaves to spread fear and causing thermal explosions, Tony calls him out on his cowardice, a move he immediately regrets.

As the script continues to introduce all the players in this third iron-clad outing, from Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian—a think tank manager Tony spurned 13 years ago—to Don Cheadle's Col. Rhodes who has a new gig as the stars-and-stripes-studded presidential bodyguard Iron Patriot, the film appears as a sloppy mess likely to meet the same fate as "Iron Man 2." Only when Tony begins to pursue the mystery of the terrorist bombings do all these seemingly disparate pieces begin to come together into what's actually a rather clever story.

Story structure aside, the script does boast plenty of Stark quips in case you worried the directorial turnover from Jon Favreau to Shane Black would alter the tone of the franchise. Not even close. If anything, the "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" director pushes the boundaries of political correctness with some of the dialogue, especially in the scenes in which Tony finds himself teamed up with a 12-year-old boy.

"Iron Man 3" digs deeper into the psychology of Tony Stark, at least more than you'd expect from a blockbuster. Rather than open with an action sequence to get the ball rolling, we get a flashback to when Stark met Pearce's Killian as well as a genetic engineer named Maya played by Rebecca Hall. Things don't really begin to pick up until Tony has his mansion blown into the ocean.

Not unlike "Iron Man 2," the film's action is largely reserved for the grand finale. Still, the amount of special effects shots is probably tripled, and the action sequences when they do come were written to be as unique and memorable as possible, with a skydiving sequence taking the cake. "Iron Man 3" hits big whenever it makes the effort to do so, proving again how Marvel Studios holds a quality entertainment standard rivaled by few.

The "Iron Man" films (and this is partly fault of the comic) lack truly excellent villains. This film sets up Tony Stark's greatest nemesis in the Mandarin, but complicates it in a way you'll never see coming considering how studios and writers have flocked toward villains in the mold of Heath Ledger's Joker from "The Dark Knight."

The movie gambles in that way and in other ways not all audiences will recognize. Take the boy for example. If the film failed on the whole, it would forever be remembered as "the 'Iron Man' movie with Tony Stark and that kid." That's dangerous territory. If "Spider-Man 3" had worked, everyone wouldn't refer to it as "the one with emo Peter Parker."

Nothing gambles more than the script, which spends a lot of time setting up the premise for what it hopes will be an effective payoff. So much of the film seems anecdotal until you see how the pieces fit. Even then, there's no guarantee the audiences will be compelled by the completed puzzle, but "Iron Man 3" goes bold enough to surprise in a good way.

The humor definitely misfires at times and the sense of danger doesn't pervade the film from start to finish, but considering how must third installments have sputtered ("Spider-Man 3," "X-Men: The Last Stand"), it's testament to a number of quality components at work behind the scenes, not excluding "The Avengers," which clearly reenergized Iron Man as a solo character. Without it, no way "Iron Man 3" opens with nearly $175 million after the critical disappointment toward the second.

Few actors have truly created and owned a character like Downey Jr. and Tony Stark. Without him, Iron Man is just a second-class superhero in Marvel's canon. He single-handedly launched Phase One of Marvel Studios' plan and gave audiences a multi-dimensional hero with both despicable and lovable qualities. If he powers down the suit after "The Avengers 2," it'll be the end of an era.

~Steven C

Thanks for reading! Visit moviemusereviews.com for more

There is a moment in Iron Man 3 which will be a big influence on whether you enjoyed the movie or not. At the time of its release, this midway twist proved to be quite polarising, with many critics and fans revelling in the clever direction of the story, whilst others despaired at a Hollywood mishandling of an iconic character. Either way, Iron Man 3 will have you talking about it by the end.

And so you should; because, even setting aside the divisive twist, this is a hugely entertaining comic book movie infused with a wonderful sense of humour, a breakneck pace and some truly spectacular action sequences.

The story revolves around Tony Stark/Iron Man facing a new threat known as The Mandarin whilst juggling his relationship with Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts and keeping Guy Pearce's creepy scientist at bay. It seems like there is a lot going on but by keeping the focus squarely on Tony, director Shane Black is able to keep the narrative from becoming incoherent, and more importantly, retain its sense of fun.

Downey Jr. is completely at home in the role of Tony Stark. He throws out one liners and insults with such ease yet achieves a sense of vulnerability not yet seen in the character. It is his most assured performance as Tony and one can only hope that he doesn't stop here. But it is not just Downey Jr. on form here, as Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, and most notably Ben Kingsley deliver fantastic performances

With the success of Avengers Assemble, and the decision to make this movie the first of Marvel's 'Phase Two', it would be understandable if Black was feeling any pressure, but it certainly doesn't come across on the screen. It may have been tempting to try and better Avengers Assemble by going bigger, flashier and louder; but wisely, Black chooses to rein in the more ridiculous aspects of comic book movies, and delivers a film which is more concerned about the man inside the suit, not just the suit itself. That is not to say there is not a lot of action; there is and it is eye popping, but in between the explosions and stunts, we get a chance to spend time with Tony and see what makes the snarky billionaire tick. The fact that it proves to be just as exciting and interesting as the segments with the suit is a testament to both Black's script and Downey Jr.'s performance.

A bold and surprising take on one of the most popular movie characters since Jack Sparrow. Filled with exciting action, hilarious one liners and one or two unexpected plot turns, Iron Man 3 will have you grinning throughout its 2 hour runtime.

Iron Man 3 is a fast-paced, entertaining sci-fi action thriller that turned out better than its disappointing predecessor.

This time around, there's no distracting Avengers subplot and the main focus goes to the main character instead. Once again, Robert Downey Jr. is at his best and fits his role perfectly as the arrogant, smart-ass Tony Stark by delivering sharp witty dialogue that make the film downright hilarious. Great round of applause for the people who's responsible for thinking up the various ways Tony can put on the suits in the film, well done!

However, the film crossed the borderline of science fiction and science fantasy. There are things in the film that's simply could not happen in reality under any circumstances, which some movie-goers might find it hard to accept. As a person who knows the cartoon and comics, the direction the film took for the characters and the "Extremis" story arc is questionable. Some Marvel fans/purists will find it unacceptable, but for casual movie-goers, the plot is great and it's really a personal story about the titular hero.

Iron Man 3 showed that it's not just a superhero film, but a smart comedy film as well. So, in the end, does the suit make the man or does the man make the suit? Well, you damn well know what the answer is after finish watching this film.

I had the pleasure of watching the film premiere last night and it blew me away. The film delivers in both storyline, and visual effects. From start to finish you are thrown in to lots of action, twists and turns. This film will not disappoint all you hardcore Marvel/iron man fans.There are some big twists, which really make this film that bit more exciting. For me the most impressive part of the movie were the visual effects, which you would expect from such a film as this. They really push the boat out with huge explosions, gun fights and all the usual extras. I do believe this will be one of the biggest films to date. Definitely worth an 8 out of 10.

Not in the case of Iron man III in the Iron man trilogy.