Iron Man 3 (2013) Review

IRON MAN 3 (2013)
Director: Shane Black

Writers: Drew Pearce and Shane Black

Producers: Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Louis D'Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Victoria Alonso, Alan Fine, Dan Mintz, Charles Newirth, and Lars Winther

Editors: Peter S. Eliot and Jeremy Ford

Cinematography: John Toll

Music: Brian Tyler

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, and Ben Kingsley

Best Credit: Naomi Parshin, Aurelia Rose, and Johanna Yunda as "AIM Ping Pong Girls."

Runtime: 2 hours 10 minutes

Rating: PG-13 (intense sci-fi action and violence, language)

Genre: Superhero, Action, Sci-Fi

Release Date: May 3, 2013

Before Watching the Movie: Just know that it isn't necessary to see the other two Iron Man movies or The Avengers beforehand. Really all you need to know is that Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) is Stark's girlfriend and that his friend Rhodes (Don Cheadle) was given an iron man suit and works for the government. The rest is pretty-well explained or easily picked up. It's very possible to go into Iron Man 3 without ever seeing a Marvel movie before and enjoy it just as much as someone who has.

Intro: Iron Man 3 is one of those movies that I knew I was going to see as soon as I heard it was being made. I've seen the other two Iron Man movies and enjoyed them and I had also seen The Avengers. I expected it to be a fun summer blockbuster, as that's pretty much what all of Marvel's movies are. Iron Man 3 definitely lived up to this expectation. The movie had a fairly weak story, but if you ignore this and dwell on what's good: mainly the acting and special effects, it is a very fun and enjoyable summer blockbuster.

Plot: Iron Man 3 takes place after the events of The Avengers, which have traumatized Tony Stark (Downey Jr.). Meanwhile, mysterious, destructive, and seemingly random bombings have taken place all over the world, and a man named The Mandarin (Kingsley) takes credit for the them and threatens the world through video messages similar to the ones Osama bin Laden would put out. After Tony threatens The Mandarin, he finds himself having to fight for his life, his friends, and the world.

Things people may find “objectionable”: The main thing here, as in any superhero movie, is violence. There is a lot of people getting blown up, hurt, or killed. It's not as much gory violence like in Django Unchained, but there is fighting throughout the whole movie. There is also some mild swearing and references to sex, though it's not very pervasive.

Ratings: I'm going to try this new format for the ratings where I separate it into what I thought was good and what I thought could have been improved on. I feel it will better answer the question of "did I like the movie and why."

What was Good:

     -Acting: Definitely a strong point. I love Robert Downey Jr, and Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, and Ben Kingsley are all great as well. Though he has a minor role, Ben Kingsley's character is worth seeing the movie for just because the scenes with him are really great. The movie has a very talented cast, and it really shows.

For lack of anything better, here's a bad Iron Man-related pun.

     -Special Effects: When watching the credits, I swear at least half of them were special effects artists of some sort. This should tell you something about where the real emphasis of the movie is. The special effects were really pretty amazing, both for Iron Man and the bad guys. My favorite special effects were used for Tony's suit that he builds that will fly to him (I don't consider this a spoiler since it's in the trailer and it's introduced within 10 minutes into the movie). It's pretty incredible how good those effects look.

     -Humor: This was one of the best parts of the movie. I loved how the movie could go from serious to funny and back again fairly easily. I love Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. The character, because he is the giant arrogant jerk he is, is absolutely hilarious at times.
    -Adrenaline: It's an action movie, so if Iron Man 3 didn't have action and tension, it'd be failing at its job. It was exciting for a good portion of the movie, and the action scenes, as expected, keep you on the edge of your seat.

    -Directing/Cinematography: Pretty good. The visuals all looked nice and it was actually possible to tell what the hell was going on during action sequences, which for an action movie is a very good thing, since often times this is not the case.

     -Script: Pretty witty at times. Some of the lines were pretty funny. Otherwise, I didn't feel it was all that special. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't special.

     -Music/Score: Kind of a typical-sounding superhero movie score, but that's a good thing. It helps increase tension and I did like it. It wasn't an oscar-winning score, but I thought it was good.

What Could Have Been Better:

     -Story: Not a bad story, but it pretty much followed the superhero formula. Granted, the superhero formula is a winning formula, but it still wasn't ground-breakingly original. Also, there were some plot holes, concepts the movie just skimmed over, and parts of the story that were never really explored, even though they seemed important. I'd list a few of them, but I think most of them include spoilers. Still, if you just shut your mind off to this stuff, it's enjoyable.
    -Characters/Emotional Involvement: Look, do you really go to see a Marvel movie for the characters? I mean, for a superhero movie, they're not bad, but it's clear to about everyone that they are not at all the emphasis of the movie. This really doesn't detract too much from the movie though. In seeing Iron Man 3, just try and shut your mind off to these types of things and you'll enjoy it much more. Know that you're not seeing it for the characters.

     -Intelligence: Not really at thinking person's movie, but that doesn't detract from it at all. Like the characters, you should just go into the movie, shut your mind off to these details, and just go along with it and you'll enjoy it much more.

The Final Verdict: Iron Man 3, though it doesn't have the greatest writing out there, is worth seeing especially if you're a fan of other Marvel, Iron Man, or Superhero movies. It's a lot of fun to watch and is highly entertaining despite its flaws. See it if you like superhero movies, if want to see really good special effects, and if you just want to see a fun and entertaining movie.

       

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