JOURNALS ON CINEMA

Iron Man 3 (2013): Review

Iron Man 3 is the most entertaining entry in the series and arguably, the best thus far. Though, it’s not perfect and is not to the level of The Avengers (2012). It’s better, in comparison with the first two installments. Iron Man (2008) had it’s tidy narrative, which effectively introduced Tony Stark but was rather bland, lacking excitement and Jon Favreau’s witless sense of humor just didn’t click. Iron Man 2 (2010) was more of the same, with an inflated narrative, boring villain and familiar “hero taking a fall” story arc; at best, it was more action-packed and provided exposition for The Avengers by introducing Shield agents Nick Fury and Black Widow.

Instead of Favreau, Iron Man 3 is directed/co-written by Shane Black, who was the screenwriter behind buddy cop action film Lethal Weapon (1987), in which he wrote the immortal one-liner associated with Danny Glover. Black brings a witty and pop culture conscious sense of humor. Having already starred in Shane Black’s directorial debut, Neo-noir comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), Robert Downey, Jr. works better with the material he has been given in the screenplay.

The slapstick comedy elements and other awkward situations come off as ridiculous but then, the Iron Man films have had their share of silliness. Therefore, this ensures tonal consistency with the previous installments, regardless of changing the director, in the same way Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy was consistently grim & gritty. Iron Man 3 marks the first time in the series, they’ve lifted major plot from the comic book story arc Extremis and gives a surprise twist to the Aldrich Killian character, conspicuously derivative of Batman Begins (2005).

Veteran actor Sir Ben Kingsley’s portrayal as the main villain Mandarin is very interesting, though they have changed his Oriental ethnicity to Eastern, for political relevance, since it’s not the 1960’s/70’s anymore and stripped away his supernatural powers from ten rings. Mandarin was implied to have been pulling the strings by the Ten Rings organization in the previous films.

Mandarin is reinvented for film audiences as a mish mash of Liam Neeson’s Ra’s Al Ghul in Batman Begins, video threat tactics of Heath Ledger’s The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) and pseudo dictator, reminiscent of Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator (2012).

Iron Man 3 is still showing at cinemas due it’s huge box-office success and if you’re planning to go watch it again, don’t miss the post-end credits scene with an Avengers Easter egg which is expected from Marvel studios, the cameo appearance of Mark Ruffalo’s Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk.