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I've never started a thread for a single review, usually just collecting them in my Movie Musings. However with this being a big new film, just about to be released in the US, I thought I would. As with The Avengers I'm sure there will be quite a number of people on here who will see it and be looking to share their thoughts
Now let's move onto what will undoubtedly be the main topic of conversation for many people, and indeed the main bone of contention for a number of people I would imagine; the film's villain - The Mandarin. In the land of the comic book, The Mandarin is Tony Stark's most formidable foe. Batman has The Joker. Superman has Lex Luthor. Thor has Loki. Captain America has the Red Skull. And Iron Man has The Mandarin as his arch nemesis. As with all those hero-arch enemy relationships, The Mandarin represents the completely opposite viewpoint of Iron Man. Now the problem with The Mandarin is that when he was introduced back in the 60s it was a very stereotypical, Fu Manchu-like creation. And in this day and age it has come in for many accusations of being racist. Indeed none other than Shane Black himself called the character a “racist caricature”. So despite being the most recognisable foe from Iron Man's rogues gallery it's no real surprise that they decided against taking on the character in the first two films.
Opposite him it's no surprise to find Robert Downey Jr. still in sparkling form as Tony Stark. I think Downey remains the most perfect piece of casting yet to grace a superhero flick. With his charm, charisma, willingness to play into the arrogant nature he sometimes gives off and his own past of personal demons, RDJ really is Tony Stark. As Stark's other nemesis this time out is Guy Pearce in the role of Aldrich Killian. The character itself may be a little limited and standard for this type of fare, but to be fair to the film I think the purpose of the character is more how he works in relation to Stark than as a character in his own right. He is created as a result of Tony's past actions and serves as a reflection of the man he may become if he is unable to reign in his obsession. As you would expect from Guy Pearce however he gives it his all to bring as much as possible to the character and does a fine job. He excels both as the slick, slimy suit character that Killian initially inhaibts; and as the more extreme, insane adversary that he becomes. His later incarnation and all of his Extremis enhanced soldiers owe a lot to Terminator 2 in terms of design. There really is an air of Robert Patrick's T-1000 about them. No matter what you do to them they reform, they heal and they just keep coming at you.
When it comes to a Shane Black film there are a few elements that you can quite safely rely on showing up - sharp and witty dialogue, lots of action, a Christmas time setting and a buddy relationship. They're all present, and in terms of the last aspect there it is achieved through a couple of relationships, one of them somewhat of a surprise. After the Mandarin's initial attack leaves him beaten, battered and stranded in a rural area of Tennessee, Tony is found and befriended by a precocious young boy named Harley. I had some initial fears that we may be heading down some corny and hokey territory but they were quickly dispelled. In fact it proved to be one of the most entertaining stretches of the whole film. The reason it works so well is that the script does not change Tony into some cuddly uncle figure. He remains his usual smug, irreverent self; and what develops is a unique father-son like relationship which felt somewhat reminiscent of Eastwood's A Perfect World. It provides the film with a degree of heart, and proves to be a nice breather in between the large scale action set-pieces. I don't think it's purely done for the laughs and emotion however, I think it works in terms of the story and Tony's character development. As I noted earlier Tony is a man struggling with his place in the universe, who has become completely obsessed with his suits. The youthful tinkerer that is Harley is like a young Tony Stark, proving to be a reminder of who Tony was as a boy and helps him to find himself again. It's a similar case with Guy Pearce's Killian who is like a glimpse into the potential insanity that resides in Tony's future if he continues his obsession with technology and the suits.
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Year of release
2013
2013
Directed by
Shane Black
Shane Black
Written by
Shane Black
Drew Pearce
Shane Black
Drew Pearce
Starring
Robert Downey Jr.
Guy Pearce
Ben Kingsley
Gwyneth Paltrow
Don Cheadle
Robert Downey Jr.
Guy Pearce
Ben Kingsley
Gwyneth Paltrow
Don Cheadle
Iron Man 3
Plot – Following on from the Avengers' epic battle in New York, and his vital role in the victory, you would expect that Tony Stark's (Downey Jr.) ego would be bigger than ever. Except that he appears haunted by what he has experienced; struggling to sleep, having nightmares and suffering from anxiety attacks. When a terrorist attack leaves his friend Happy Hogan battling for life, Tony may just be pushed over the edge. The man responsible for orchestrating the attack was The Mandarin (Kingsley), a maniac terrorist hell-bent on bringing chaos to America. When Tony issues a personal challenge to him, The Mandarin brings the fight to his doorstep. Literally. It is a battle that will test his body and mind to their utmost, but it's not his only problem. He also has to deal with problems in his relationship with Pepper (Paltrow) and the return of an old acquaintance in Aldrich Killian (Pearce), who it turns out is not a particularly big fan of Tony.
When it comes to sequels, and indeed threequels if a franchise is lucky enough to make it that far, it's pretty common to find the film staying on very safe ground; not taking too many risks and just sticking with what has already worked thus far. So it's rather refreshing to find that Iron Man 3 proves to be one of the boldest and bravest of superhero films that has so far appeared on the market. It's bold in the way it grants its hero a sense of fear and uncertainty, and brave in the way it makes a huge break from the Iron Man mythology that has been established in the comic books. It's a move that is likely to incur the wrath of numerous die hard fans, but more on that later.
When it comes to the third film in a franchise it seems to be a concrete rule that you have to go darker. And while there may be some truth in that here I'm not sure darker is the word I would necessarily go for, perhaps deeper and more complex would be more apt. As a result it is probably not as consistently funny as the previous outings for the character, though it still does have a good number of laughs.
In terms of stories told on the page, Demon in a Bottle is amongst the most famous and revered tales in Iron Man's comic book history. It was a story arc which detailed Tony Stark's battle with alcoholism. Despite its iconic status in the Iron Man legacy it's not really a surprise that it has not been directly tackled on the screen, I'm not sure it's really the medium to try and tell such a narrative. This third entry in the series does replace his alcoholism with some other demons however. Tony Stark is one of the the smartest, if not the smartest men on the planet. He is a man who can understand and build just about anything. But since his last solo outing, Tony Stark has encountered aliens and gods, and been to another dimension. He now struggles to deal with everything he has seen and encountered. He finds it almost impossible to sleep and when he does he is plagued by nightmares. He also suffers from a form of PTSD in the form of anxiety attacks which befall him when he things about what happened to him. His arrogance now seems like merely a front, attempting to hide the shadow that he now is of his former self.
Film Trivia Snippets - For the role of Maya Hansen various people were considered including Gemma Arterton, Diane Kruger and Isla Fisher. Jessica Chastain was actually cast but had to drop out as a result of scheduling conflicts, with Rebecca Hall eventually landing the role. /// While for the role of Aldrich Killian, Downey's Sherlock co-star Jude Law was considere. /// On their first day together on set, Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Kingsley took and photo together and sent it to their mutual friend Richard Attenborough.
*****MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS ARE REVEALED IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH*****
When it was announced that he would indeed feature in this third instalment there was quite a lot of questioning and reservations about it. How exactly would they tackle the character on screen? Well I personally think they came up with a rather ingenious solution to a potentially tricky proposition. They played into the unique manner of the character, revealing that Ben Kingsley is not actually The Mandarin that we've come to know on the page. He is actually a British actor named Trevor Slattery and the whole thing has been a fraud orchestrated by Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian. The reveal left me completely rocking for a couple of minutes, but after I got past the shock I kind of loved it. He is revealed to be a hammy and frequently drunken actor and Kingsley plays it perfectly, producing a lot of laughs with his behaviour and his interaction with the bemused Tony. It does however risk bringing the narrative to a halt for some people, and I certainly imagine that such a massive twist on an iconic character will not sit well with a number of die-hard comic book fans. In fact I think I can hear the fanboy howls of derision right now! 
I however thought it was a highly creative way to try and avoid a potentially dangerous pitfall for the film. It also allows the film to work as a satire, and a relevant commentary both on the impact of the media on our lives, our prejudices and the fear that such characters can create in our lives. It shows how the media can create such threats through fearmongering. It shows that through a manipulation of footage a completely different narrative can be created. And it plays into the prejudices and expectations that exist the world over, and certainly here in the West. Indeed Pearce's Killian even states at one point that he gave the people the villain they were expecting in Kingsley's extremist terrorist. Kingsley is rather fantastic. For the initial period under the guise of The Mandarin he appears only in video messages that are broadcast on TV, and does so in a very eccentric and enigmatic manner. It's a tough character to get a bead on which works in the film's favour, creating fear through the uncertainty and creepiness. Then after the rather shocking revelation he proves to be extremely spirited and entertaining as Trevor Slattery.
I however thought it was a highly creative way to try and avoid a potentially dangerous pitfall for the film. It also allows the film to work as a satire, and a relevant commentary both on the impact of the media on our lives, our prejudices and the fear that such characters can create in our lives. It shows how the media can create such threats through fearmongering. It shows that through a manipulation of footage a completely different narrative can be created. And it plays into the prejudices and expectations that exist the world over, and certainly here in the West. Indeed Pearce's Killian even states at one point that he gave the people the villain they were expecting in Kingsley's extremist terrorist. Kingsley is rather fantastic. For the initial period under the guise of The Mandarin he appears only in video messages that are broadcast on TV, and does so in a very eccentric and enigmatic manner. It's a tough character to get a bead on which works in the film's favour, creating fear through the uncertainty and creepiness. Then after the rather shocking revelation he proves to be extremely spirited and entertaining as Trevor Slattery. In Their Own Words - “Our ambitions were to make sure that we had the movie that felt like a worthy successor to the two previous Favreau films. To Marvel’s credit, they said, “We’ve done The Avengers. We made a lot of money. But, let’s not do that again, right now. Let’s do something different.” And they allowed for a different, stand-alone film, where we got to be more character-centric and go back-to-basics with what Tony Stark would do next and what was left to tell of his story. That was very appealing to me. To make it more of a thriller and to make it more about Tony, and less otherworldly and grounded more, was our intention. I hope we succeeded.” ~ Shane Black
As has become rather common in superhero flicks these days, our hero spends much of his time out of his suit. So in terms of the number of action set-pieces its not an overwhelming amount. When they do arrive however they are massive and pretty epic in their scope. There is of course the attack on Tony's home which results in it sliding into the ocean; the scene which got everyone drooling when it featured prominently in the trailer. It's certainly an explosive way to initiate the Iron Man-Mandarin rivalry, and you may assume that it's the biggest set-piece IM3 has to offer but the film has some more tricks up its sleeve. There's a quite ridiculous mid-air rescue from Air Force One in a scene which will likely adopt the shorthand of the 'barrel of monkeys sequence'. It sees Tony remotely piloting one of his suits in an attempt to catch 13 people falling from the sky. Jarvis informs him that he is only capable of carrying four people so he needs the people to work together and hold onto each other. It's an incredible scene which amazingly was achieved not through any CGI, but through practical means. They really did throw 13 people out of a plane, 10 times a day for 8 days and just filmed it. Using a Red Bull stunt team it really is one of the most amazing pieces of stunt work I've seen in quite a long time. And then to close out the film they saved the biggest battle of all, a huge face-off between dozens of Iron Man suits and numerous Extremis-infused villains aboard an oil drilling platform. This will seem like a strange reference but I actually found it reminiscent of Monsters Inc's bedroom door sequence, taking place as it does across numerous levels, rising and falling aboard bits of machinery and Iron Man's suits. And the scene rather literally results in fireworks.
With each subsequent appearance for the character, Iron Man's tech has gotten more advanced, more creative and quite simply just cooler. And Iron Man 3 holds true to that tradition. The big advance here is in Tony's ability to control his suits remotely, and a suit which assembles onto him piece by piece. These upgrades allow for some entertaining and wonderfully creative moments throughout the film. In the action sequences there are several innovative uses of the suits, with highlights including him battling a series of suited goons with just half a suit, and his suit assisting him in an underwater rescue. And the suits also generate some laughs in his relationship with Pepper, with a particularly great comic beat when the suit turns it head and looks judgementally at Pepper during an argument she is having with Tony.
Film Trivia Snippets - The original budget for Iron Man 3 was $140 million, but after after The Avengers was such a massive hit, Marvel Studios upped it to $200 million to allow Shane Black to make the best movie he could. /// According to Kevin Feige (the President of Marvel Studios), the Mandarin character was partly inspired by Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now. “He wants to represent this sort of prototypical terrorist, someone who worked for the intelligence community, who went nuts in the field and became this sort of devotee of war tactics."
The other 'buddy' relationship is a much easier one to predict, that between Tony and his friend, Colonel James Rhodes. Shane Black's most famous creation to this point has been the Lethal Weapon series, and in the friendship between these two there is a definite echo of the Riggs and Murtaugh relationship. You've got the wild, unpredictable Riggs-like character in Tony, and the more uptight, harassed figure of Murtaugh in Cheadle's Rhodey. Anytime they appear together on screen is pretty much a guarantee of laughs, with the War Machine/Iron Patriot issue proving a fun running joke. This also allows Rhodey to finally come into his own a bit more. Perhaps they've not done quite enough yet to justify handing Cheadle a spin-off outing, but it's getting there.
Oh and as has become commonplace for Marvel's output, and superhero films in general, IM3 does feature an after-credits scene. Unlike those found in other Marvel efforts however it doesn't really have any importance to the plot of either this film or any future film. Nothing important is revealed, no hints are dropped. It is purely there as an extra little slice of entertainment featuring a cameo from one of his Avengers buddies. And it's a neat little coda that I got a nice kick out of.
Conclusion - There have been a number of stories going around for a while about whether we will see a fourth entry in the Iron Man series or not. If this does indeed prove to be the last outing for old shellhead, at least with RDJ occupying the suit, then I think this film brings it to a nice and appropriate close. It brings a sense of resolution to both the character and his story. It may not quite top the character's 2008 debut but that's certainly more of a comment on how much I loved the first film, as opposed to any negative views I have for this film. As a way to kick off Phase II of Marvel's assault on cinemas, it's hard to think of a much better way to do so than this film accomplishes. Though with its surprising twists on the established Iron Man mythology and break from being a purely standard popcorn flick I can certainly see this being perhaps the most polarizing film of the Iron Man series. Already looking around and while most critics love it, fans appear pretty split.
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JayDee's Movie Musings (Reviews - Frailty / Total Recall / Lone Ranger / Nightcrawler / Whiplash / Imitation Game / Birdman / Avengers: Age of Ultron / Mad Max: Fury Road)
One thing I forgot to bring over from my Movie Musings review of it was the warning of sorts beforehand about how when it comes to superhero flicks I don't review them like I do other films. I throw out any pretensions of being a 'proper' critic and just let the geek that I am out to play! 
You mean you actually read the review?! To be honest given how long I waffled on for wasn't expecting anyone to make it through the whole thing. 
