Iron Man 3 is an important film in the MCU. Not only does it conclude the first trilogy in the MCU, but it also serves as the first step of Marvel Studios' 'Phase 2'. This is fitting, as the original Iron Man essentially allowed the rest of the MCU to take flight. Also, on a personal level, it's an important film for me because it's the first film my girlfriend and I saw together at the cinema.
Following 2012's The Avengers, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is an emotional wreck. Terrified by the idea that there are forces out there beyond his understanding, Tony has locked himself away in his Malibu home making adjustments to his Iron Man armour and alienating himself from his friends Colonel James (Rhodey) Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) and his girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). But, along with his emotional state, Tony has new enemies to battle. Not only does business rival Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) emerge, but Tony is targeted by vicious terrrorist The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). As his resources are steadily stripped away and his loved ones are put at risk, Tony must overcome his demons both internal and external.
Director/co-writer Shane Black, having previously worked with Downey Jr. on 2005's supremely underrated Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, knows how best to utilise his star's abilities. This, in all honesty, is my favourite performance from Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Tony still has the same narcissistic charm and charisma we all know and love him for, but here his 'armour' has been stripped from him in mental terms. Tony was always the biggest guy in the room throughout Iron Man and Iron Man 2, which made him more anxious around the potential challengers to his throne in The Avengers. Given his near-death experience in that film, Tony's anxieties are starting to break through his usually cool exterior. He desperately wants to be able to protect his loved ones, but by following this instinct the way he deems appropriate, he not only risks isolating them but even puts them in greater danger. This is the most complex the character of Tony has arguably ever been, and Downey Jr relishes the new shades he can play with here. He still delivers snappy dialogue with the terrific flair only he possesses, but when Tony's vulnerability becomes apparent, Downey Jr is emotionally captivating, particularly in the moments where Tony feels all sense of control slipping through his fingers, something which often induces shocking anxiety attacks. This is often surprisingly raw work from Downey Jr, which adds rich new layers to the character while maintaining what we as an audience love about Tony and making us want to see him make it to the end in as much of one piece as possible. I've already gushed praise about Downey Jr in the prior MCU reviews, so to do much more here would be overly repetitive. Suffice it to say that both Downey Jr and Black really understand not only what makes the character work, but where to alter him to make him even more interesting without losing what made him so special to begin with.
Downey Jr. is undoubtedly the star of the show, but that doesn't stop the supporting cast from making an impression. Paltrow is once again wonderful as Pepper Potts; her scenes with Downey Jr, although not as many as in prior films, are still fantastically acted. This the most tense things have been between Tony and Pepper to date, and I have seen people complain that Pepper's a bit too 'stand-offish' in this entry. But I see the positions of both Tony and Pepper. Imagine if your partner, a person known for his flamboyant confidence and ease around people, suddenly became a reclusive wreck who appears to be shunning you for, in Tony's words, 'a hobby'. That makes Pepper and her actions, if not agreeable for some, at least more understandable. Don Cheadle returns as James Rhodes, and he is also terrific. The buddy dynamic between Rhodes and Tony is played with effortless chemistry by the two actors, and it's clear that Black enjoys bringing his prior experience with this type of dynamic from Lethal Weapon to the forefront here. This is also evident in the relationship which forms between Tony and young boy Harley (Ty Simpkins), a relationship which could have been too 'cutesy' but which benefits from the great performances of Downey Jr and Simpkins and Black's brilliant writing (although one of the best lines from the film from Tony to Harley was apparently improvised by Downey Jr). As The Mandarin, Ben Kingsley is nothing short of mesmerising. This is a character who could have fallen apart in the hands of a less skilled actor, but Kingsley makes it look effortless and delivers one of his best, most inspired performances in years. Guy Pearce is deliciously nasty as Aldrich Killian. As he proved in 2012's Lawless, Pearce is more than capable of playing sick, insane and immeasurably despicable antagonists. While his work here doesn't quite generate the same boiling hatred for his character, Pearce still excels at portraying this sleazy and vicious individual. A lot of people complain that Pearce's Killian is an unsatisfactory villain, but I don't agree at all. I think that Pearce is a vastly underrated actor (watch last year's The Rover for further proof) and that Killian is a fantastic nemesis for Tony. As villainous henchman Eric Savin, James Badge Dale is an effortlessly intimidating highlight. Savin is a character who could have easily been nothing special, but Dale is an actor who can take even the smallest role and infuse it with presence and personality. The luminous Rebecca Hall, who often doesn't get her dues as an actress, gets a lot out of comparatively little here as scientist Maya Hansen, who fall into the middle of the central conflict. Much like Savin, this is a character who could have left little impact, but Hall gives Maya an intriguing undercurrent of regret and moral ambiguity which makes the character much more flesh-and-blood. Favreau is as enjoyable as always as Happy Hogan while Paul Bettany has probably his biggest role yet as Tony's electronic butler Jarvis and is fantastic in relishing his wonderfully dry and witty dialogue. And, as is always the case with a film in the MCU, there are a few cameos from some familiar faces. My personal favourite is one at thee very beginning of the film, which solidifies the trilogy as a real journey for Tony from the arrogant, self-centred man he was before to the 'changed man' he is today.
Shane Black, taking over directing duties from Iron Man and Iron Man 2 maestro Jon Favreau (who still appears here as Tony's friend Happy Hogan), delivers his own distinct style here without sinking the Marvel ship. That's a delicate balance which most directors have to accomplish in the MCU, and Black pulls it off skilfully. There are definite 'Black-ish' touches here. The Christmas setting, the 'buddy' dynamics, the funny and memorable bit-part henchmen, the occasional curveball... Black adds all of these touches into the Marvel mix and make them work within the context of the story; actually, his touches often invigorate the story. I think that Marvel picks directors like Black so that their own unique styles and strengths can individualise films which could easily been quite routine if given to more blandly mainstream film-makers, and Black proves to be yet another inspired choice who does a few genuinely daring things along with co-writer Drew Pearce. The script is just as quick-fire and witty as one might expect having seen Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; both Black and Pearce show real talent for bringing their characters and story to life with patience and colour through their dialogue and scene-setting, whether it be funny, threatening, moving or something different. The only area I think Black and Pearce struggle with is the acknowledgement of the wider MCU Universe, which feels somewhat awkward. Outside of a fleeting yet memorable Thor reference and a fun pre-credits touch, it's hard to shake the feeling that Black and Pearce just want to focus on their own story. While this is an issue, it's not one which destroys the film for me. Plus, the whereabouts of the other Avengers during Tony's plight is explained in later MCU films.
While Black expectedly shines handling the story, actors and dialogue, he also shows great aptitude when it comes to the action sequences. There are no big action sequences for the first 35 minutes, although there is an surprisingly unsettling bombing sequence which illustrates what a threat The Mandarin and his disciples can be. When the film hits the 35-minute mark and the villains openly declare war on Tony, the destruction is spectacular. The flying/crumbling debris, the whizzing bullets and exploding rockets... These all hit with rattling force (and, for me, the moment showing two of Tony's robotic creations in the midst of the chaos carries surprising weight and emotion, especially as someone who's a huge fan of this world and who has watched the prior Iron Man films several times). There are three fast and fierce fight sequences in the second act before the final 45 minutes really ramp up the spectacle. A sequence showing Tony dealing with an aerial crisis is phenomenally done, and deserves credit for both the faultless visual effects and the amazing practical stunt-work, and how seamlessly they are melded together. And this is before the insane finale, when Tony and his enemies face off against each other with everything they've got. The finales of most trilogies (excluding some examples such as Richard Linklater's Before trilogy), especially ones as driven by visual effects as the Iron Man trilogy, should be epic occasions, and the final battle here delivers on all fronts while still giving the character moments to shine and surprise. The isn't an 'action-packed' film (that term is thrown around way too much in my opinion), but when the action does come, it is terrifically executed and leaves a definite impact. Much of this comes from the fact that, aside from arguably one scene, Tony can never fully rely on his armour to achieve his goals for whatever reason. This makes him a much more vulnerable hero and therefore makes the action more intense.
The visual effects in Iron Man 3 are never anything less than incredible. There aren't any moments where the visual effects stick out in a negative way, and the majority of them create a genuine sense of something special, whether an intimate moment or a grandiose tableau. A particular quirk of Tony's enemies, for example, is realised terrifically and leads to a lot of visually threatening moments. Speaking of visuals, legendary cinematographer John Toll ensures that this is the most gorgeously-shot of all the Iron Man films; the scenes shot in Tennessee are particularly beautiful, with a wintry majesty which lends further weight to Tony's isolation as it goes from being self-imposed to being forced upon him. The music by Brian Tyler is fantastic, packing almost endless energy, heart and epic relentlessness which amplifies everything occurring on screen. Editors Jeffrey Ford (who also had a role in editing 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers) and Peter S. Elliot ensure that the film keeps moving at a strong pace, even though it does feel like parts of the plot were noticeably cut down. Characters such as Maya Hansen and Vice President Rodriguez (Miguel Ferrer) feel like they should have received greater exploration in order to give their roles within the narrative more weight.
Iron Man 3 is arguably the most divisive film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that is mostly down to the plot and in what direction it goes. Suffice it to say that this could lead to spoilers, which is which I will leave some more spoiler-filled notes based on my opinion after the film's final verdict and rating. There is one major plot point which has particularly split people; anyone who has seen the film should know what point I'm referencing here. Without giving anything away, I will say that, between the 'love' and 'hate' camps, I would personally have to put myself in the 'love' camp. If you want to know why, again please check out my spoiler comments after the final verdict and rating. While we're talking about problems, the motivation for the Mandarin and Killian's henchmen is a bit difficult to grasp on the initial viewing. My main flaw with the film goes into spoiler territory, so if you want to see what my issues is, make sure you've watched the film and then look at my post-review notes.
As the end of the first MCU trilogy, Iron Man 3 does a really solid job wrapping up Tony's story. Not only does it offer the most eye-popping action, but it also brings Tony's arc to a thoroughly satisfying end. The final five minutes, accompanied by a exceptionally written and delivered monologue, is a beautiful concluding note. And when that final line is uttered and Brian Tyler's orchestral 'piece de resistance' kicks in over the credits, it's hard for me to suppress a smile.
Final Verdict
While Iron Man 3 isn't my favourite film from the MCU or even my favourite film from the Iron Man trilogy (the original still holds that title by a slim stretch), I still love it. Director Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce send the solo adventures of Iron Man out on a daring high note. The performances are fantastic all around, with Downey Jr and Kingsley delivering stand-out work. The action sequences deliver the most forceful, powerful bang out of the trilogy. The film looks spectacular, both due to stunning visual effects and cinematographer John Toll's exquisite photography. Brian Tyler's epic score and the mostly strong editing work of Jeffrey Ford and Peter S. Elliot keep the film moving at a propulsive pace with enough character interactions to keep a emotional connection to the material. Are there flaws? Absolutely. There are characters who feel underdeveloped given their role in the plot, the motivation for the villainous henchmen is pretty murky on first viewing and there is a issue for me personally which drifts into spoiler territory (check out my thoughts in the post-review notes). But that doesn't stop the film from being an incredibly entertaining entry in the MCU, which ends on a surprisingly powerful emotional note perfectly concluding the solo trilogy of Iron Man.
Rating: 4.4 out of 5
Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter
In what is currently the penultimate Marvel One-Shot film, we catch up with Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) a year after the loss of her love Captain America. Situated in an office of the early SHIELD and poorly treated by her male colleagues, Peggy sees a chance to prove herself when a dangerous criminal organisation makes their move. Simply put, I adore Agent Carter. In fact, it could well be my favourite Blu-Ray short from the Marvel Blu-Rays. This genuinely feels like a small, 15-minute adventure film with the big-budget sheen of the feature-length films. Director Louis D'Esposito effortlessly captures the essence of Captain America: The First Avenger, which is only fitting since this takes place in the same time era as that film and it follows a critical character from the Captain America legacy. Speaking of which, Hayley Atwell is once again spot-on as Peggy, continuing to be one of the premier female bad-asses from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She's witty, stylistic and believable in the action. Speaking of which, a big chunk of the short is a brilliantly done fight scene between Peggy and the goons of that criminal organisation. But even then, this short manages to tell a surprisingly complete story which introduces us to Peggy's plight and her chauvinistic colleagues (led by the brilliant Bradley Whitford's Agent Flynn) and allows us to root for her before showing her in action and delivering a ending worthy of a 'hell yeah!' D'Esposito is aided by Eric Pearson's strong script, along with sterling technical credits such as Gabriel Beristain's wonderful cinematography, the tightly concise editing by Peter S. Elliot (showing up again after Iron Man 3), the terrific costume design by Ellen Mirojnick and Timothy A. Wonsik and the great work of set decorator Brandon Smith and production designer Shepherd Frankel. Come the end of Agent Carter, which helps to establish an important point only fleetingly mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, there's the genuine feeling of watching a full film with a conflict and resolution worth investing in. I'd highly, highly recommend checking this out.
Post-Review Thoughts (SPOILER WARNING!!!)
So, the plot point which seems to divide people the most is the reveal that The Mandarin isn't a fearsome and deadly terrorist, but rather a dim-witted British actor named Trevor Slattery being used by Killian in order to take the blame for the accidental explosions caused by unstable 'Extremis' subjects. While people in the 'hate' camp appear to dislike this twist for the fact that it destroys the threatening villain as depicted in the comics and the film up to this point, the people in the 'love' camp seem to admire it for the courageous narrative rug-pull it represents. That reason is why I love it, but I also love it for another reason. Throughout the majority of the film, the media is present, mostly to allow the Mandarin, the President and Tony to make declarations to the public. Both Black and Pearce acknowledge that the media can be used as a weapon, but in a really smart piece of social commentary, they also explore how it can be used as piece of misdirection. By giving the audience (the American public) someone to fear and hate in the form of The Mandarin, "you give them a target". By giving the public that target, Killian is completely in the clear because nobody is focused on him. That's both a fantastic villainous plan and a terrific comment on how the media can be weaponised for many dangerous purposes. On top of that, it reinforces the idea that Tony is hiding behind his Iron Man persona, much like both Killian and Trevor are hiding behind the character of the Mandarin. Plus, can we talk about just how amazing Ben Kingsley is here? Not only does he nail the vicious and intimidating terrorist leader, but he is perfect as the dottering and pathetic actor behind the role. What's more, while Kingsley is larger-than-life in both personas, he never verges on 'cartoonish'. He never goes too far, instead striking genuine notes of chilling evil and total bumbling ineptitude as both the Mandarin and Trevor which ring entirely true. And I love the fact that Black and Pearce tackle the issue of how quickly we as a public are to look for someone to blame for acts of atrocity. When we're given the target of "a Gaddafi, a bin Laden, a Mandarin", it could be argued that we paradoxically feel more secure because we know what we should fear and what we should fight. This is a really bold and brilliant move, and I'm so glad that Marvel Studios gave Black and Pearce permission to run with it. One other critical reason which I think plays a decisive factor in either the acceptance or rejection of this twist is whether or not you're on-board with Pearce being the main villain. Most of the complaints I've seen aren't aimed at the character of Killian, but rather at Pearce. As I said in the review before, I'm a big fan of Guy Pearce. Memento, LA Confidential, The Rover, Lawless... He gives great performances in all of those films, and I think he does great work here as a smug yet dangerous man. So when it is revealed that Killian is the main bad guy, I have absolutely no problems with it.
My main issue with the film is that, without meaning to be sadistic, there aren't any real casualties. The only character from the principal cast who dies and isn't a out-and-out villain is Maya, and while her death is shocking (mainly because of how swiftly it happens), it would have had more of an emotional impact if a character further cemented in the Iron Man series had died. I can understand why the film-makers wouldn't want to kill off Pepper and Rhodes, as they are important supporting characters whose relationships with Tony can still help to define him, but why couldn't they go all-out and kill Happy? While seeing him get caught in the middle of an explosion did bring the danger home (the shadows of those vapourised by the blast was a strong, disturbing touch), killing him would have really left a mark on Tony. Still, seeing him recover by the film's finale reinforces the idea that Tony's friends and loved ones aren't nearly as vulnerable as he thinks they are. I think that's the same vibe they were going for with the Pepper fake-out later in the film, but that was a bit too obvious for me. Let's see... Pepper plummets to her apparent death shortly after being injected with a formula designed to heal almost all injuries. Where's the suspense? When I saw that for the first time, I was almost certain that she was alive, which made the attempt to wring emotion from it seem forced.
That last point being said, it was still awesome seeing Pepper taking out Killian on her own with no help from Tony. It was a great little exclamation point to the theme that Tony doesn't need to worry too much about protecting his loved ones (especially after seeing Rhodes hold his own against the Extremis soldiers with no armour), and what follows when Tony executes the 'clean state' protocol is a wonderfully tender and romantic moment of Tony acknowledging this.
While I struggled to understand the motivation of the Extremis henchmen and women on the initial viewing, I think that I've got more of an understanding now. All of the Extremis subjects, minus Pepper, are men and women who have had some form of physical handicap, whether it be a missing limb (like Stephanie Szostek's Ellen Brandt) or a dilapidating ailment (like Killian when we first see him). If someone were to cure you of that, like Killian does for many, that would instil some feeling of gratitude which could lead to loyalty. However, another reason is illustrated throughout. When Pepper has finished owning Killian, she turns to Tony and says, in a shocked voice, "that was really violent". Also, when Ellen finds Tony in Tennessee and attempts to apprehend him only to be stopped by the local sheriff, you can see that she gets unnaturally agitated and violent very, very fast (I have to admit that I love the Terminator-like moment where she almost completely shoves her arm straight through his chest to grab the gun from the deputy behind him). That kind of easily-provoked rage would draw attention to them in every-day life, but being in the midst of war would give them both the opportunity to be the soldiers they once were and to put their rage and new abilities to better use. That makes it more understandable as to why they'd follow Killian's scheme to create "supply and demand" once he "owns the War on Terror". I don't know if this is the reason which everyone would come up with, but as long as there's a reason which makes enough sense within the context of the story and the characters, I'm willing to accept it.
Finally, I love the final post-credit cameo from Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), as it's revealed to be the person Tony's been telling this story to. It's great seeing the narration being wrapped up, as it shows the circle of the narrative being concluded (something wittily acknowledged in a line from Tony), but it's also fantastic seeing that Bruce has drifted off to sleep while listening to Tony's story. His excuse that he just doesn't have the "temperament" for offering therapy is priceless. Plus, it's just great to see Banner again. After the financial failure of The Incredible Hulk, the Hulk is now the only 'major' Avenger to not get the trilogy treatment (unlike Iron Man, Captain America or Thor), so any chance to see the character is one I'll take. And Ruffalo is once again pitch-perfect here. So, while it might not provide anything ground-breaking, I still love this post-credit scene.
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