I'm not that good at making excuses... but like Lance Guest
once told Mario Van Peebles in Jaws: The
Revenge: when you fall off the horse, you get right back on again.
Directed
by Shane Black (who co-writes with Drew Pearce), Iron Man 3 finds Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr) still coming to
terms with the otherworldly events of The
Avengers. All that’s keeping him from a complete mental breakdown is an
obsessive desire to perfect his Iron Man armour (he’s up to MK. 42), and the
woman he loves, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). But when a terrorist mastermind
calling himself ‘The Mandarin’ (Ben Kingsley) surfaces and reduces Stark’s life
to rubble, the vengeful billionaire is forced into action against his most
dangerous adversary yet.
The
immediate challenge facing Iron Man 3
is just what to do with Tony Stark. After five years of us getting to know the
character, finding interesting new directions to steer him in without solely
relying on Downey’s performance (still an uncanny bit of casting genius) can’t
be easy. So to counter this, part three is all about getting Stark as far away
from his comfort zone as possible, and seeing how he fights back (it very much
harks back to his stint in a Middle Eastern cave).
This
really shouldn’t come as a surprise by now, but just like in the first two
films, Stark spends the very, very, very
large majority of Iron Man 3 sans
power armour. Okay, so your inner 13-year-old might let out a barely pubescent
sigh over it, but what sets the Iron Man
films apart from other summer blockbusters has always been a strong focus on story
and characters over spectacular action (although there’s plenty of that to go
around as well). Jon Favreau’s original
film is widely considered one of the best comic book adaptations ever for this very reason, and Black
continues the tradition with barnstorming results.
What’s
more, Paltrow continues to rise above the clichéd damsel in distress archetype
as Pepper Potts who, without giving too much away, soon finds herself in the
most extraordinary of positions. Since the beginning, a core component of Iron Man has been the bond Potts and
Stark share. If it weren’t for the two (and a bit) films of watching their
relationship grow, then seeing it practically demolished here wouldn’t have
packed nearly the same impact that gives Iron
Man 3 its emotional drive.
With
Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) back in action, and sporting his swanky new
Iron Patriot armour, there’s a fair deal of (Iron)Man Love in the air too.
Cheadle is given his meatiest role in the series to date, while the sharply
scripted banter between him and Downey often feels lifted straight out of Black’s
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (which, by the
way, if you haven’t already seen, please make a point of doing so). I’m talking
full, bickering married couple-grade bromance - AKA: The best kind.
You
might have noticed that each Tony Stark adventure has steadily increased the
need to suspend disbelief. We’ve gone from terrorists and Jeff Bridges in a
mech suit, to automated robot drones and a sweaty, semi-naked Mickey Rourke
brandishing laser whips (in a mech suit), to a full blown alien invasion of New
York. Here, the opposition comes from genetically mutated mercenaries sent out
by suave scientist Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) to do Mandarin’s bidding. Fuelled
by the Extremis formula, these guys can emit intense heat and regenerate whole
body parts, making them exceptionally hard to kill. Now, if you were to jump
straight from the original film to this threequel, that shift in realism would
come off as a serious case of shark-jumping. Taken as part of the overall
Marvel movie continuity, however, this turn towards pure science fiction makes
for some truly exciting action sequences just right for a trilogy-closing
endgame.
As
for the main villains, it’s hard to talk about Ben Kingsley’s portrayal of ‘The
Mandarin’ (a major Iron Man baddie
that many comic readers have waited an age to see in cinematic action) without
getting into ruinous spoilers, but yeah... I liked what they did, I think it
worked and I would even go so far as to call it a tasteful creative decision.
While this ballsy move may have split viewers right down the middle, I reckon
we can all at least agree that
Kingsley nails it in his own inimitable style.
Plus,
who doesn’t love the ongoing Guy Pearce career renaissance? I was already
impressed by Pearce’s evil turn in Lawless,
but watching him get his slime on while decked out in expensive suits and a
slicked back beginner’s mullet (if only they’d delayed filming by a few months)
was second only to the religious experience that is Lockout (pure junk, but the man is awesome in it). Pearce damn near
steals the whole picture from right under Downey’s goatee, making Killian yet
another strong addition to his recent acting canon. If he keeps this up, I
expect The Time Machine 2 to be given
the green light any day now.
I’ve
made it this far without getting into the whole Shane Black factor, but it’s a
biggie and can’t be ignored. The writer of such manly classics as Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout, his signature style is very much felt in
Marvel’s latest opus. Alongside his trademark Christmas setting and that
aforementioned Stark-Rhodes buddy cop interplay, you get an uptick in foul
language, bumbling comedy henchmen, a third act kidnapping, and even extreme
violence towards women. He may have had to wrap it all up in a PG-13 ribbon,
but this is still the edgiest Iron Man
yet.
Black’s
involvement would also likely explain the film’s tone. This is not a superhero movie
which takes itself all that seriously. For instance, there’s one supervillain
moment that’s so over the top and out of left field... it’s deliberately played
for laughs. In another case, this might’ve been a deadly demonstration of
power, but here it’s funny as hell! Again, I want to avoid spoilers, but it is
so refreshing to see this kind of approach taken in a major Hollywood franchise
production, especially after the hilarious sincerity of last year’s The Dark Knight Rises (no doubt the
greatest unintentional comedy of our time). Unfortunately, I know this
borderline irreverent take on the Iron
Man brand has only contributed to its divided critical reaction, so I guess
you simply either ‘get it’ or you don’t.
That
said, not everything clicks like you’d hope. For one thing, the
Extremis-powered super soldiers are only ever as powerful as the film needs
them to be at any given time, leading to some glaring inconsistencies with
their abilities; and despite playing a notably pivotal role, Rebecca Hall feels
underused (oh by the way, she’s in this). Most of all, I’d be lying if I said Iron Man 3 doesn’t have one of those
plots that relies heavily on movie magic and immediately crumbles under an iota
of logical thought (a la Jurassic Park
or Prometheus).
So
while Iron Man 3 doesn’t quite supersede
Jon Favreau’s first stab at the franchise, Black nevertheless serves up a
highly enjoyable trilogy capper that boasts a crowd-pleasing concoction of
lovable heroes, gnarly villains, pitch perfect comedy and plenty of computer
generated spectacle (Weta Digital and a multitude of studios worked their socks
off on this). While it feels like a natural end to Tony Stark’s story, the film’s
billion dollar box office takings means this likely won’t be the case.
Just
don’t ask me where they could take it next.
