Iron Man 3 (2013)

And so the road to the Avengers 2 begins. Or, Avengers Assemble 2 anyway. And what better way to start off this journey than with the billionaire, playboy philanthropist himself, Mr. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).

Roughly a year after the Loki-lead Chitauri invasion, Stark is suffering from some slight psychological issues, most likely because he almost died. Making more and more iron man suits as a distraction, he finds himself being called into action when a terrorist, known only as the Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley), threatens everything he holds dear.

The story is different from the last two Iron Man films, obviously, but I mean the context. The third film is much darker than the last two. We explore Stark's psyche, the Mandarin takes almost everything away from him, we see a more vulnerable Iron Man. And that makes it more exciting, it keeps you intrigued, on how Stark will overcome these obstacles. Having read the Extremis graphic novel, yes there were some differences, but really nothing drastic, the main, spoiler-free example being that War Machine is now the Iron Patriot, the suit that Norman Osborne (from Spider-Man) wears. Then again what do you expect the American military to change it to to make it more family friendly? Do you really think it's good publicity to have your weapon called War Machine? It's not like there are ships called destroy...ooooo. But apart from minor details like that it still relatively keeps to the source material. It still manages to keep it's humour as well, whether that be Stark interacting with James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) or something involving the suits.

Robert Downey Jr. is still superb as Stark/Iron Man, portraying the character we've all come to love, but adding in the dark tones from his experience with the Avengers. Cheadle still gives a great performance, but I do feel he was underused somewhat, especially when it comes to the climatic scene. Gwyneth Paltrow meanwhile was pretty good, she's an okay actress, but I do feel she was better towards the end. Sir Ben Kingsley meanwhile, please sir take a bow. He was brilliant, you can tell he was having a lot of fun. Guy Pearce meanwhile also did a fantastic job, he manages to portray the right characteristics, as well as effectively show how the character develops. Although the introduction of Harley (TY Simpkins) does feel forced and cheesy, even if the kid is a good actor.

The effects look spectacular, especially the metal suits and in combat. The scene where the Mandarin attacks the Stark residence (Shown in the trailer) was breathtaking, and those injected with the extremis look great, particularly when you see extremis flowing through their veins. Although I do kind of feel the climatic battle was a bit underwhelming, considering what's going on, but I do see that the film should focus more on the main character rather than what's happening around him.

There really isn't much else to say. It's a damn good film. The acting is brilliant, the effects are fantastic, the story is great, it's certainly a great start on the road to Avengers 2. It has a bit of a shaky start I admit, but there isn't really that much to hate, if anything. Okay, admittedly it isn't as good as the Avengers, but then again that film raised the bar, and with it being the first one since that film there was always going to be pressure against it. I've also seen a fair bit of rage against the film, particularly from Chris Nolan/Dark Knight fans, for some reason, and I was going to raise those points in a spoiler section, but I've decided against it. Well, I'll raise one or thing. But if you're going to strongly hate a film just because of some minor details, some of which are explained or quite obvious when you think about it, then fine, go be on your merry way. But it is quite a shame as this is one Hell of an entertaining film.

I mean, you'll never find me ranting that much over a film.

THAT FILM CAN GO ROT IN HELL!

Spoiler Section

Okay, Killian (Guy Pearce) being the Mandarin instead of Ben Kingsley. If I was a die hard Iron Man fan then I might be pissed off too, especially since Kingsley played a really good Mandarin too. Maybe it's because I'm not an avid fan of Iron Man that I'm angry with this. Like I said I've read Extremis, and I think it's one of my favourites. For the most part though, I thought it was a good twist. I certainly didn't see it coming and I thought it led to some great comedy.