Even before The Avengers was released, fans knew that a third Iron Man was coming. Fans also knew that Jon Favearu, the director of the first two installments, was stepping from behind the camera and allowing Shane Black to take the lead. I was not quite sure whether the move was voluntary or whether Marvel/Disney preferred the move. Nevertheless, I was initially concerned that the quality of the franchise would suffer after the exceptional job done on the first Iron Man. Once I saw the disappointing Iron Man 2, though, I thought the change could do the franchise some good. Shane Black has a long background with buddy movies and witty banter, so it seemed that he would be good at bringing out the Robert Downey, Jr. that we love either with or without the armor. Perhaps Shane Black should have directed the second one, for the movie needed some better banter between Tony and Rhodey, but I guess was not part of the plan at the time. Well, Shane has the reigns now, and while his crack at Tony Stark's alter ego is far from perfect, he ends up succeeding more than he fails.
The best thing that Shane Black realized is that when you have Robert Downey, Jr. playing Tony Stark, you just let him loose and let magic happen. Once again, Downey, Jr. nails the character and expands it to show even more of his vulnerability, fears, and shortcomings. You see him suffer from post-Avengers PTSD, his desire to protect his loved ones, his focus on revenge - all mixed in with hilarious one-liners that at least get a slight chuckle. Of all the superheroes out there in the cinematic universe, Tony Stark is the only one that you want to see WITHOUT his superhero abilities, and Shane Black provides plenty of Tony in this movie. Even though it is clearly Tony's show, all the supporting cast gets a chance to shine as well. Ben Kingsley's portrayal of The Mandarin especially stands out, for his performance as Iron Man's nemesis is the most engaging villain portrayal since Heath Ledger's Joker. The movie takes a liberal approach to his character's origins as well as fellow villains Advance Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), but overall, they do not lessen their appeal in the movie.
The main gripes I have with the movie are threefold. For one, the plot twist at the end was not that surprising in itself, but it was surprising how it left you more disappointed and less shocked. I will not reveal the plot twist to not spoil the movie for some, but you end up feeling a little unsatisfied by the time you arrive at it. In addition, while the majority of the movie had good pacing and character development, the all out finale between the enemy and Iron Man's legion of armors was slightly overdone. It was cool seeing all the armors in action (Hulk-Buster armor!!!), but some of the sequences, especially with Rhodey springing into action to save the President, was too ridiculous to ignore. Furthermore, even though it is clearly Iron Man's party, I expected some other characters to stop by and say hello during the movie. At the very least, where was SHIELD when all the chaos and destruction was going down? Maybe we will get the answer in future offerings from Marvel.
Overall, Iron Man 3 succeeds in wetting our appetites for more Marvel action. If the subtle hints in the movie are not figments of my imagination, then I am excited to see what happens next. Marvel has yet to let me down, so my hopes are high.
