Wednesday 29 October 2014

Iron Man 3 (2013) Movie Review



Director: Shane Black
Writers: Drew Pearce, Shane Black
Starring: RDJ, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce

I feel that Iron Man 3 is easily the most enjoyable of the series. Not the best. That title goes to Iron Man 1 but if I were going to watch one of them on a whim, it would be the third. The third and supposedly last of the Iron Man movies sees Stark going through post-Avengers-stress-disorder as his old arrogant ways come back to bite him.

The main reason why I love the movie so much is that it is beautiful to look at (mostly).  There are a couple short scenes that are visually unimpressive but any of that gets utterly eclipsed by the marvel of the climactic battle. People wonder why Stark didn’t use the house party protocol earlier in the movie. That’s because at the end he had come to the realisation that he was done with iron man. When his house was getting blown up, he had no intention to sacrifice all his suits and the situation didn’t call for it. In terms of CGI choreography, the final fight is spectacular. The fluidity of movement in and out of the suits is incredible and every move is clearly defined.

The returning characters are all probably at their best during this movie. RDJ is funny as always and Rhodey is actually interesting for once. Speaking of funny, there are some moments in the movie that are unexpected and brilliantly absurd. There is a random guy cowering behind a truck who has a little conversation with Stark. Also, the guy who is holding Tony captive and accurately knows the distance between two random American cities… masterful.

This is all well and good but there is a lot wrong with the movie as well. There are pretty much no interesting villains in the movie. It’s unknown to me if you are supposed to be surprised when Guy Pearce is evil (but the other big reveal is infamously unexpected and hilarious). My least favourite thing about the movie is how much screen time the bald guy gets. He is a generic henchman with absolutely no personality yet the movie insists he exist longer than five minutes.

On of the most reoccurring complaints I have heard surrounding this movie is that they did not do justice to the Mandarin. I personally thought that they handled this brilliantly well, both in and outside of the movie. The studio knew that the trailers of the movie would be viewed by millions of people making the twist so much more unexpected. I have heard so many people complain that Aldrich Killian is a poor substitute for the Mandarin. I agree with that but I see it unlikely that anyone was going to take Ben Kingsley fighting Iron Man seriously. It would have been a much less exciting movie had they played it straight. It is by far the most unique of a cluttered marvel catalogue.

My favourite of the Iron Man trilogy is rife with humour and stupendous action. Some of the characters lack in depth and interest but the previously established ones more than make up for them. Any complaints the Internet make can be debunked by making them imagine a kung fu Ben Kingsley. Overall, Lovely Stuff.

Recommendation Status: Worth a watch

Please feel free to leave a comment on either the movie or the review. Say if you liked or disliked the movie. I'm interested to find out what you think!

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