Iron Man 3: A Barrel of Monkeys
Marvel’s Iron Man has always stood out as the funniest
(and cinematically, most successful) Avenger. Humor plays a
pivotal role in Shane Black’s Iron Man 3, against a
background of dazzling (though repetitive) action sequences that closer
resemble the ending of a 007 movie than a third (fourth,
if you count Marvel’s The
Avengers) outing for America’s new favorite superhero.
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Marvel's "Iron Man 3"
pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy
whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at
his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible.
This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the
wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and
instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark
discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the
man make the suit or does the suit make the man?
What’s Best:
Downey is Iron Man, and carries the movie with
his unique comedy stylings (can you say sarcasm?) In Downey’s capable hands, adjectives like
arrogant, pompous and smarky (It’s
a word...
at least according to Urban Dictionary)
come across as terms of endearment, ditching their negative connotations at the
door. Whether he’s delivering zippy one-liners, ‘Follow the mullet,’ ‘Jarvis,
drop my needle!’ or simply waiting in costume (sitting, legs crossed on his
sofa) for Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow,) Tony
Starks/Iron Man 3 is downright adorable/deplorable. P.S. Nice touch using Eiffel 65’s Blue (Da Ba Dee) to open the film. P.S.S. A daring
rescue aboard/outside Air Force One looks pretty darn cool.
What’s Not:
Downey’s excellent performance notwithstanding, the third Iron Man feature
comes dangerous close to “jumping the shark.” In
just five years, Iron Man has evolved from a crudely constructed suit of armor
to an impossible-to-swallow set of endless vessels
that Starks dives in and out of (with nauseating ease.) One could effectively
argue that Iron Man is running almost entirely on remote control. Here’s hoping
the next chapter takes it down a notch or two (or risk losing a big chunk of
its audience.) Hint, hint: One Iron
Man (and one War Machine) are more than
enough.
Best Line:
Just about everything that comes out of Downey’s mouth is
funny. His plainspoken rapport with 10-year-old tyke Harley (Ty Simpkins) is
appropriately grown-up, highlighted by, ‘You know what keeps going through my
head? Where’s my sandwich?’ Not to be outdone, one of the Mandarin’s guards
“backs off” in grand style with, ‘Honestly, I hate working here. They are so weird.’ If only more henchmen were
this smart.
Grade: B
