THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
After the billion dollar success of The Avengers, expectations rose for the MCU. In my eyes, they were liven up to it when wrapping the trilogy of Tony Stark, which would begin Phase 2 of the franchise.
PLOT
Iron Man 3 takes place during the holidays and follows the avenger suffering from PTSD & insomnia after saving New York from an alien invasion, almost dying in the process. A terrorist known as 'The Mandarin' is spreading fear across America and when his friend Happy Hogan is injured in a bombing, Tony decides to call him out. When investigating the bombing Happy was at, he discovers how that one had a resemblance to another at Tennessee. His ex girlfriend, scientist Maya Hansen tries to warn him that he’s in danger before his house is attacked. She and his current girlfriend Pepper Potts are able to escape before Tony drowns as the house crumbles on top of him. With the aid of his AI Jarvis, he autopilots the Mark 42 suit and flies him to Tennessee to continue the investigation. When the suit shuts down after running out of power, Stark repairs it at the nearest barn and befriends a child named Harley who lives there. He allows him to continue his work while showing him the bombing area. Checking out the site, he sees that there were only five shadows when six actually died. He encounters the mother to one of the victims, who was expected to hand a file to someone. He then runs into the expected that is people who are posing as Homeland Security, Ellen Brandt (Stephanie Szostak) and Savin (James Badge Dale), the latter who survived the bombing Happy was in. He fights them both, but it is difficult in the process as they regenerate rapidly. He is only able to kill Brandt but Savin gets away. Before leaving, he tells Harley to watch the suit for him until he needs it. With the help of camera operator Gary from a beauty pageant, who is fan of Iron Man, he uses his computer to look up the organization AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics) that is ran by Aldrich Killian, someone he abandoned in New Years Eve of 1999. Killian has been experimenting with a serum that can allow regeneration for those with crippling injuries named ‘Extremis’. The serum only works if metabolized, which explains the explosions. As Hansen tells Potts of this, they are abducted by him. When finding a possible location of The Mandarin in Florida, he does discover that an actor named Trevor has been hired by Killian to pretend to be public threat. Tony is captured along with best friend James Rhodes, now named ‘Iron Patriot’, who was scouting Mandarin locations. Killian revealed that he aligned with Hansen to make Extremis work but doesn’t tell him that he aligned with US Vice President Rodriguez (Miguel Ferrer) to rule America by killing US President Ellis (William Sadler), and Rodriguez would follow Killian’s orders in exchange of curing his daughter’s disability. Tony figures out that part when escaping with Rhodes. Before he does that, Hansen tries to threaten Killian by exposing herself to the serum but the mastermind kills her anyway. He also rescues people who fell out of Air Force One as Savin caused the plane to crash after abducting the President. When Rhodes rescues the president, Tony fights Killian and his goons at an impounded damaged oil tanker to save Pepper. She almost dies from a fall but due to being exposed to Extremis, she is able to survive the fall and kills Killian herself. Promising to be more devoted, Tony destroys all of the remaining suits he made. And after she got cured of Extremis, he decided to undergo surgery removing the shrapnel from his body. Due to the film being narrated by him, the film ends with him saying how he will always be Iron Man no matter what happens to him.
THOUGHTS
I remember seeing this in theaters back in 2013 and years later, I am still having a ball with this. This is the kind of movie I am back and forth with because as I enjoy it, I still catch many flaws that prevent it from being better than the first film. I love how in Tony's case, the stakes are definitely raised compared to the whole trilogy as this was the first time Pepper and Rhodes were abducted by the villain. First off, I like that Tony wants to stand up to the Mandarin because he's showing how fearless he's become, but there is such a big continuity error in that scene. His car is pointed one way and then is pointed in another by the next shot when leaves the hospital. And there was a split second where you don't see Tony with his sunglasses before he takes them off, where the shot is focused on the reporter. I can never appreciate Robert Downey Jr. owning that scene because of those flaws. The House Party Protocol scene where all the suits aid Tony is amazing during the third act, but why the hell didn't Tony summon them when his house gets attacked? Many suits would be destroyed like the first seven, but it would be worth it because they would've saved him while taking down all three choppers. We don't know until The Winter Soldier that HYDRA infiltrated SHIELD, so why doesn’t that government put Potts and Hansen in a safe house? Hansen would've revealed what she knows and Killian would've been handled by the time Tony finds out the truth of the Mandarin. And lastly, I didn't mind that Tony was narrating the story, but it feels disappointing that he was sharing it to Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), who slept through the whole thing. If you somehow ignore all of this, than I think you'll still enjoy this superhero movie. As I return to the goods, I gotta admit that the visuals significantly improved compared to the second film and because of that, each action sequence holds up. The big highlight that kept me invested in this trifecta was the cast. Downey is still great at not disappointing us with his performance of the titular superhero. Seeing him recover personal issues was more empowering than his actions as a superhero because PTSD + insomnia are real. The fact that he overcame it, gives hope to people who are going through the same thing. Although this wasn't yet the end of him, I couldn't be more happy that he got the shrapnel removed because it's there where he feels at peace. I was really surprised that from the voice alone, Paul Bettany created Jarvis' own growth. Hearing his concern for his maker caught me off guard and I appreciate there was character for this program before it would become the Vision in Age of Ultron. Gwyneth Paltrow probably gave her best outing as Pepper in this sequel. Seeing her break from being a damsel and defending herself fearlessly not only felt fresh but also showed how much she’s grown as well. Don Cheadle continues to back it up when playing James Rhodes in his given time. I'm not crazy about Iron Patriot but it does represent the character's patriotism and professionalism. I really didn't mind the presence of Ty Simpkins as Harley because he may come off annoying but he did express his intelligence as well, which caught Stark's eye. Giving him the light to use against bullies, like Savin, was the definitive father figure moment for him to say they're connected. The fact that he was at the funeral in Endgame proves that they always were. Jon Favreau may have not directed this film but it was great to see him play Happy Hogan again and have significance to the story. Although he can act dry in public, it doesn't change how prideful he was, which would help Tony in the long run. The biggest laugh I had with this movie was Adam Pally's cameo as cameraman Gary. Seeing him geek out over Tony was hilarious because it was so relatable. For me, I really geeked out seeing Shaun Toub again as Yinsen in the opening flashback. That scene alone was worth the price of admission. Guy Pearce surprised me as Killian because I never he’d be pull off a villain role, until I saw Lawless. He pulls it off on making him an arrogant, anithetical counterpart to Tony. He is the final example that only ourselves are responsible for making our demons because we can make mistakes that affect others and be unaware until it affects us in the long run. So when we seeing Killian feel abandoned, it teaches us the lesson that a good role model must never blow off supporters/admirers. And last but not least, Sir Ben Kingsley does play it well as an easy going, washed up actor hired to play an intimidating terrorist. Both sides work but it doesn’t change the problem I have of this twist. It’s the kind of twist that's funny yet infuriating. The Mandarin is Tony’s greatest foe in the comics who is a resurrected ancient myth, not propaganda, which is why we’re left hanging that it’s not done right. But you know what, at least we got an accurate portrayal in 2021’s Shang Chi, which was hinted in the 2014 short film, All Hail the King. In conclusion, Shane Black is able to make a creative sequel to the MCU that may not be the better film of the trilogy but still fun nonetheless. This film is also recommended for not only fans of Iron Man, but to change up your Christmas marathon.
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