MCU Rewind #7 - Iron Man 3 - Review
Release date (US): May 3rd, 2013
Directed By: Shane Black
Rating: PG-13
Directed By: Shane Black
Rating: PG-13
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gweneth Paltrow, Jon Favreau, Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle, Rebecca Hall, Ty Simpkins
MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned.
Previous Rating: 7.8/10
MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned.
Previous Rating: 7.8/10
Expectations/Background: Going way back, after The Avengers, I remember the hiatus between the team up and the final entry in the Iron Man trilogy was the time when I got caught up with the MCU. May 2012 - May 2013 was the period of time where I watched all the other films that I had missed and started immersing myself into the MCU. So when Iron Man 3 came out, I was all hands on deck excited for this movie. When I first saw the movie, I loved it. I was much younger (it was 5 years ago) and I got just caught up in the hype. Then I saw it again later when I had my wits about me, and to be honest, I thought it was fine. Here's the thing. And this is probably completely my own fault, although I think the studios are partly to blame; the trailers promised a gritty, harsh, dark film with a terrorist as a villain where Tony Stark is lost and has to fight his way back. THAT is a movie that I would have loved to see. Go watch the first trailer for this movie and tell me that you don't want that movie. As for the movie that we got, I thought it was serviceable, but nothing much. I wasn't that mad about the twist, but I was disappointed. I would have loved to see Sir Ben Kingsley playing a truly terrifying villain that would close out the Iron Man trilogy. Having not seen the film for awhile, I was curious to see how my thoughts had changed since that.
The Movie: The first two thirds of this movie are solid. Rock solid. Except for one scene which we will get to later, but I think up until the Mandarin twist the movie was rock solid. But I think the problem with the movie is that it loses it about halfway through the third act when you see 60 iron man suits (yes I know it's 42) the movie goes off the rails.
Positives: Despite what I just said, I think that there are so many great things about this film. First of all, Robert Downey Jr., as per the usual, is awesome in the film. He IS Tony Stark and he embraces it every single frame that he's onscreen. Paltrow as Potts is good as usual. And I didn't mind the kid (Ty Simpkins); the only reason I didn't hate him was because of how well he played off of Tony Stark ("because we're connected" kills me every time).
And I can tell you that this film is LEAPS and BOUNDS more entertaining than Iron Man 2. Iron Man 2 was not a good movie, but it was entertaining in the sense that it was funny trying to watch RDJ act his way out of a terrible script and a terrible plot. This film, right from the get go, has a sharp script and sharp dialogue courtesy of Shane Black.
And honestly, this is the kind of film that you can just sit back and enjoy without thinking too much about. If you really want to make the most out of this movie, then just sit back and ignore the dumb things from the movie and take it for what it is. This film is an action comedy at heart, and it is unapologetic, which is great.
Another wonderful thing about this movie is the visual effects. As much as Jon Favreau revolutionized the way Iron Man looked in the first couples, one of the best suit ups ever in the MCU is Tony Stark suiting up for the Mark 42, both for the first time and when the mansion is exploding. The way the visual effects make the flying parts look so real when they attach to him is stunning.
Here's something small that I really appreciate about the movie as well; the theme song is awesome. And they use it so much, and again so unapologetically, but I LOVE it. This is my favorite MCU theme song, and especially when the song starts blaring when the mansion is breaking apart and Tony is suiting up, that to me is one of the best pieces of cinema to come from the MCU.
And... I mean look again. The film's dialogue is sharp, funny, and entertaining for sure. I really think so. But...
Negatives: The story is a mess. As per usual, Marvel fails to bring forward a compelling story. NOW GRANTED - this story is not nearly as messy as Iron Man 2 (I don't think Marvel is capable of making a story that helter-skelter ever again). But I'm telling you, the movie opens as a comedy, goes to action, goes back to comedy (even buddy cop in a certain sense), and then just goes bananas when the army of iron man suits start showing up and blowing up left and right.
Also, can I just say. One of the dumbest things any character has done in the entirety of the MCU is give their home address to a terrorist. I mean seriously? Now, granted, of course he's Tony Stark and who wouldn't know where he lived being a multi billionaire, but the moment he declares where he lives on national TV was one of the stupidest, dumbest things a character has done. If that was the ONLY way to move the plot forward, then they should have scrapped it. But it's not - they could have easily included a scene where they show the terrorists tracking down Tony's house and launching missiles.
And the Mandarin. Now look, I think the twist ITSELF is fine. It's fine. It was funny too. But let me say, as funny as the scene was, the way that they played it had no place in the film that they were making. And again, this is my fault partially, but also look at the marketing and look at the first two thirds of the film. The terrorism aspects of the Mandarin were haunting, chilling, and terrifying. I would have LOVED to see this kind of villain play out and be a match to Tony Stark. But what we got is what we got.
We don't talk about Aldrich Killian (we will in the next section).
So overall, the film is fine, but most certainly it's disjointed and has no focus. It's rather disappointing that this was the best that they could do after Iron Man.
The Villain(s): I think I've said enough about the Mandarin, so let's talk Aldrich Killian. I think that when he's on screen just being the cunning, smart, slightly maniacal but cold, calculating scientist was great. He did a greta job. But after he starts breathing fire, he goes off the rails. I hate the line where he goes, "I AM THE MANDARIN." It was almost as if the filmmakers realized that fans would be disappointed with the Mandarin, they shoehorned a reference to it. I thought that was absolutely disappointing. I think we had a great villain to start with, but like so many others, he just falls so flat in the end.
Positives: Despite what I just said, I think that there are so many great things about this film. First of all, Robert Downey Jr., as per the usual, is awesome in the film. He IS Tony Stark and he embraces it every single frame that he's onscreen. Paltrow as Potts is good as usual. And I didn't mind the kid (Ty Simpkins); the only reason I didn't hate him was because of how well he played off of Tony Stark ("because we're connected" kills me every time).
And I can tell you that this film is LEAPS and BOUNDS more entertaining than Iron Man 2. Iron Man 2 was not a good movie, but it was entertaining in the sense that it was funny trying to watch RDJ act his way out of a terrible script and a terrible plot. This film, right from the get go, has a sharp script and sharp dialogue courtesy of Shane Black.
And honestly, this is the kind of film that you can just sit back and enjoy without thinking too much about. If you really want to make the most out of this movie, then just sit back and ignore the dumb things from the movie and take it for what it is. This film is an action comedy at heart, and it is unapologetic, which is great.
Another wonderful thing about this movie is the visual effects. As much as Jon Favreau revolutionized the way Iron Man looked in the first couples, one of the best suit ups ever in the MCU is Tony Stark suiting up for the Mark 42, both for the first time and when the mansion is exploding. The way the visual effects make the flying parts look so real when they attach to him is stunning.
Here's something small that I really appreciate about the movie as well; the theme song is awesome. And they use it so much, and again so unapologetically, but I LOVE it. This is my favorite MCU theme song, and especially when the song starts blaring when the mansion is breaking apart and Tony is suiting up, that to me is one of the best pieces of cinema to come from the MCU.
And... I mean look again. The film's dialogue is sharp, funny, and entertaining for sure. I really think so. But...
Negatives: The story is a mess. As per usual, Marvel fails to bring forward a compelling story. NOW GRANTED - this story is not nearly as messy as Iron Man 2 (I don't think Marvel is capable of making a story that helter-skelter ever again). But I'm telling you, the movie opens as a comedy, goes to action, goes back to comedy (even buddy cop in a certain sense), and then just goes bananas when the army of iron man suits start showing up and blowing up left and right.
Also, can I just say. One of the dumbest things any character has done in the entirety of the MCU is give their home address to a terrorist. I mean seriously? Now, granted, of course he's Tony Stark and who wouldn't know where he lived being a multi billionaire, but the moment he declares where he lives on national TV was one of the stupidest, dumbest things a character has done. If that was the ONLY way to move the plot forward, then they should have scrapped it. But it's not - they could have easily included a scene where they show the terrorists tracking down Tony's house and launching missiles.
And the Mandarin. Now look, I think the twist ITSELF is fine. It's fine. It was funny too. But let me say, as funny as the scene was, the way that they played it had no place in the film that they were making. And again, this is my fault partially, but also look at the marketing and look at the first two thirds of the film. The terrorism aspects of the Mandarin were haunting, chilling, and terrifying. I would have LOVED to see this kind of villain play out and be a match to Tony Stark. But what we got is what we got.
We don't talk about Aldrich Killian (we will in the next section).
So overall, the film is fine, but most certainly it's disjointed and has no focus. It's rather disappointing that this was the best that they could do after Iron Man.
The Villain(s): I think I've said enough about the Mandarin, so let's talk Aldrich Killian. I think that when he's on screen just being the cunning, smart, slightly maniacal but cold, calculating scientist was great. He did a greta job. But after he starts breathing fire, he goes off the rails. I hate the line where he goes, "I AM THE MANDARIN." It was almost as if the filmmakers realized that fans would be disappointed with the Mandarin, they shoehorned a reference to it. I thought that was absolutely disappointing. I think we had a great villain to start with, but like so many others, he just falls so flat in the end.
The Verdict: It may seem like I'm bashing on this film - let me make this abundantly clear; this movie is a fun time. Is it the sequel we all wanted after a disappointing Iron Man 2? No. Is it the follow up to the Avengers that we wanted? Not in my opinion. But when you sit back and enjoy this for what it is, this film is a fun ride that you can enjoy. There are a couple of all time great superhero scenes and the visuals are stunning, but in my opinion, it falls short of being something truly great. Letter Grade: B-. Number Score: 7.6/10
Should I Skip?: I think so. Just search the suit up clips online. Here's the interesting thing with this film. When it first came out, this was RDJ's last film on his contract before he renewed it again. So they had to close out the film as if RDJ may not come back to the MCU. But in doing so, it closed it off so oddly with Tony promising not to make any more suits, before coming back promptly in Age of Ultron with a Mark 43. So yes, you can easily skip this film and be fine.
TLDR: Tony Stark builds 42 suits and is dealing with PTSD from the Battle of New York. He fights a villain, and has the shrapnel removed from his chest.
9-10: Nearly Perfect
Should I Skip?: I think so. Just search the suit up clips online. Here's the interesting thing with this film. When it first came out, this was RDJ's last film on his contract before he renewed it again. So they had to close out the film as if RDJ may not come back to the MCU. But in doing so, it closed it off so oddly with Tony promising not to make any more suits, before coming back promptly in Age of Ultron with a Mark 43. So yes, you can easily skip this film and be fine.
TLDR: Tony Stark builds 42 suits and is dealing with PTSD from the Battle of New York. He fights a villain, and has the shrapnel removed from his chest.
**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.
A- to A+: Amazing
B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed
C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed
D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws
F: A Failure of a Film
8-9: Very Good
7-8: Good
6-7: Okay
5-6: Average/Mediocre
4-5: Apparently Flawed
3-4: Heavily Flawed
2-3: A complete and utter mess
0-2: A Failure of a Film
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