Iron Man 3 Review

After the events of The Avengers, our hero Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is having trouble sleeping. He is pouring all of his energy into building new and improved Iron Man suits. His girlfriend, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), wants more attention from him and worries about his well-being. When Stark publicly threatens The Mandarin, a rogue terrorist played by Ben Kingsley, he stirs up more trouble than he has time for. Iron Man 3 finds our hero stripped of his armor and everything he holds dear, a storyline that seems to be recurring in recent superhero films.

While the setup may sound familiar enough, Iron Man 3 is much different than any of the other Marvel films we have seen recently. Writer-director Shane Black takes over for Jon Favreau, who helmed the first two films in the series. Black, whose credits include scripting Lethal Weapon and the underseen Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, works extremely well with Robert Downey Jr. Fans of the first Iron Man will find no shortage of snappy humor in this one. In fact, this film probably has the most humor of the entire series. I laughed harder while watching this movie than I would during most recent comedies.

Of course, summer movie fans will want to know how the action is in this movie. There are three standout action sequences, with some smaller scale action interspersed throughout. All three of the big scenes deliver and are memorable in their own regard. I don't want to give too much away, but I can at least divulge what is in the trailer. The destruction of Tony's mansion is suitably grandiose and chaotic, but the real standout action scene occurs when Iron Man must rescue several people in midair who have fallen out of a plane. The climactic action finale is a bit overblown, but there were so many cool things going on at once that I just enjoyed it for what it was.

Iron Man 3 does have some significant flaws though. The plot can get pretty convoluted and the main villain is weak and underwritten. Certain plot elements seem too neatly tied up, particularly at the end. You can certainly follow the plot, but you also leave wondering "Why did he do that?" in some scenarios. I'm trying to keep this as vague as possible to avoiding spoiling fans, but I think some people might be disappointed with a twist that happens midway through the movie. Since I am unfamiliar with the comic book mythology, this departure from the storyline didn't bother me and I thought it worked well. This movie would have been much more engaging from a dramatic standpoint if the villain had been more memorable.

I left Iron Man 3 having had a fun time, but wishing the plot had made a little more sense. If you go into this movie wanting a summer blockbuster that is very funny and action-packed, you will get that. If you are expecting a movie on par with the original or The Avengers, then you might be a little disappointed. I admire that Shane Black made this one very much his own in terms of style and tone. It doesn't follow a traditional three-act structure for this type of movie and I appreciate that. Certain comedic scenarios that on paper could have been stale, end up working because of Black's dialogue and Downey's charisma. This is the kind of movie where the action is so awesome that you can forgive some plot inconsistencies. This movie could have used a tighter script, but it's a worthy sequel and a fun ride that kick-starts the summer movie season.