The strength of the Iron Man series has always rested on one thing: Robert Downey Jr. and his wise-cracking not-so-alter-ego Tony Stark. This time around, Stark is humanised like never before. He may be Iron Man, but the squishy bit inside the armour feels the strain exerted by his last outing in The Avengers. His fatigue mirrors that of the audience: after the alien-battling-extravaganza of Whedon’s 2012 romp, will future adventures be able to reach the lofty bar set?
The answer is yes. A partial yes. Stark is still the best thing about the franchise, and paired with Lethal Weapon scribe Shane Black in the directing chair nets him more self-satisfied one-liners than ever before. It’s the Tony Stark show. But more so. In fact, Iron Man 3 is probably the funniest Marvel film so far but this reveals itself as a double-edged sword – some of the gags are mere centimetres away from being in farcical territory. Tony’s tech fails on him? He’s supposed to be the smartest guy in the film. That’s funny. It fails on him every single time he uses it? Not so much.
Antagonists come in the shape of Sir Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin and Guy Pierce’s Aldrich Killian. The former is Iron Man’s nemesis from his comic book origins, and so hopes were high for an imposing figure. Kingsley doesn’t disappoint: The Mandarin is well-realised and thoughtfully placed. Pierce, on the other hand, starts strongly but by the film’s conclusion has devolved into bouts of painful melodrama.The film fares better in its portrayal of Stark’s inner demons. His brush with nuclear death in The Avengers has left him with crippling anxiety issues which are most unbefitting of a superhero.His befriending of the troubled 10-year-old Harley (Ty Simpkins) provides both a perfect mirror for Tony’s man-child tendencies and gives Black room to flex his buddy cop movie muscles.
The computerised effects retain the high standard of the other Marvel films, and builds to a suitably massive conclusion. Still, by the end it all feels about as mechanical as Stark’s armour. The stakes quickly evaporate and the ending feels a little vacuous.The best sections of Iron Man 3 are when they feel brave enough to push the series in new directions, like in the segmentation of Tony’s suit. Watching him fight off a room full of bad guys armed with only one gauntlet, one boot, a liberated submachine gun, and a bottomless supply of wit is utterly superb.
Again, the film is made by Stark and what makes him different from every other hero; it’s most satisying when his intelligence gets him out of slippery battles, both physical and mental. Iron Man 3 occasionally forgets this, and the film as a whole suffers. It’s still a solid start to Phase Two of the Marvel movies, but it’s difficult to not feel a little disappointed.
Verdict: 7/10