I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Keeping up with superhero movies can be challenging, and without a doubt, writer and director Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 is no exception. That said, I finally got to rent the film over the Memorial Day weekend and it was definitely a step up from the second film.
Robert Downey Jr. reprises the role of billionaire genius/playboy/philanthropist/title superhero Tony Stark in a story that follows the events from Joss Whedon’s 2012 film, The Avengers. Beneath his façade, Stark is intrinsically haunted by the weight that comes with protecting the world and the fear of losing love interest Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, all while a new threat emerges in the headlines in the form of Ben Kingsley‘s iteration of the villain, The Mandarin. However, as a story like this would have it, not all is what it appears to be and Stark is forced to face himself and the choices of his past when new techology makes its way stateside with terroristic consequences in a mission that brings him ever more closer to his mortality, and the nation at the feet of an ambitious and unseen enemy.
For me, the key factor in making this film work was the process of bringing Downey Jr. and Paltrow even closer together and placing a little more emphasis on their status as a couple amidst the struggles they face. It’s largely what kept me caring about the rest of the characters and most of the events that took place with all of the danger unfolding around them, aside from the fact that Stark goes through his Iron Man suits like butter. I especially enjoyed Guy Pearce‘s performance along with Ben Kingsley who I thought brought just the right tonal balance to the film even if some critics and comic book purists don’t agree – Hell, I’m not at all familar with the comics so I can’t delve too much into in an analysis in that regard.
I’ll say this Iron Man 3 is pretty much everything it needed to be as per its initial franchise apart from being an MCU film, so I really wouldn’t know what they could have done with a fourth Iron Man while it was being discussed at the time. Looking ahead up to now, I’m glad I saw this one and I’m pleased that a fourth isn’t listed in the next phase of the MCU.
I’m also happy that Marvel hasn’t publicly begun revamping Iron Man for a whole new set of movies with a new actor just yet, which I think undercuts what’s currently happening with Phase 3. Besides, I like the Iron Man we have right now, and I’d like to keep him for a while longer as I’m not ready to see him replaced just yet.
My two cents.