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| year: 2013 cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce rating: ***1/2 |
The best scenes have Tony Stark figuring out things on his own after his mansion is attacked and destroyed by impending forces led by The Mandarin, who, played by Ben Kingsley, resembles Osama Bin Laden with the voice of Dan Rather. Mandarin devises (or appears to be devising) televised terror strikes, and the rampage on Stark’s pad sets the stage for the rest of the film: Tony’s defunct iron suit in hand, he winds up in a small town – kind of a white trash Norman Rockwell painting. After meeting a helpful young boy, who thankfully is an effective character and not that corny, Tony – who’s become a bare knuckle James Bond type – traipses into the villain’s lair and finds out something not worth spoiling: Although Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian, first shown in the film’s flashback prologue, was such a frantic scientific underdog he can only get worse. Yet the really important heavies are the agents that can heal themselves instantly, making like that liquid cop in TERMINATOR 2... sleek, resilient, unstoppable... providing Tony Stark a few cool fights along the way.
Robert Downey Jr. turns in another fine performance in the title role, although his rapid fire sarcasm is hit or miss, only provided he has funny lines to deliver – some are, some aren’t. But what makes this third IRON MAN work are the eclectic locations of the action sequences: from a dungeon lair to a soaring air plane to a final stand on an old oil freighter, there’s always something to… excuse the pun… marvel at, despite the plot getting overly complicated and the villain wielding powers that are a bit of a reach, even for a comic book movie.
Great review as always.
ReplyDeleteI just got back from seeing this movie. My favorite Iron Man movie was Iron Man 2 1/2 or otherwise known as THE AVENGERS - soooo good. I was hoping for more out of this movie for some reason. In the previous Iron Man movies there was always something that annoyed me about it. If it wasn't for the final battle in the first Iron Man movie that would be by far my favorite. But that last battle was so bombastic, loud, and the dialogue cringe worthy of any Michael Bay movie it ruins it. I liked the second movie well enough but I was expecting the awesomeness of a SPIDER-MAN 2, instead it more of the same, great trailer though.
Alright, THE AVENGERS movie ruined every hope of IRON MAN 3 being awesome because, well it should have been called IRON MAN 3: AVENGERS UNITE! or something like that.
Anyway I was underwhelmed by the movie. Although Ben Kingsley was awesome and one of my favorite actors Guy Pearce unfortunately once again gets sleeved into a disappointing role.
It is Marvel so one MUST stick around through the whole credit sequence to get that final little clever scene at the end. Which sad to say was one of the actual highlights of the movie for me.
I hope this is the last Iron Man movie. Not that they couldn't make an awesome Iron Man movie, but I'd rather have a couple more AVENGERS movies with Mr. Downey Jr. than his solo ride.
By the way, the 3-D was totally unnecessary. Didn't add anything to the movie whatsoever. Going to the movies is expensive with a capital E. Even first show of the day. Add on the extra for 3-D...I want my money back.
Time to pick up a book, any book, and read. Better for you.
i thought the avengers was highly overrated, more or less an action packed problem to solve than a worthy superhero collective. i enjoyed this movie far more.
ReplyDeleteWhat threw me in IRON MAN 3 was right in the middle of it, you find out exactly who the "Mandarin" is (*SPOILER* or is not). It killed the whole thing for me. It threw me completely out of the movie. Ben Kingsley was great but...I was done with the movie at that point. In my mind I was screaming "Really? Seriously? Is Kevin Smith directing this thing?". It felt like they threw in a twist to just throw it in there for no other purpose than to be clever. It irritated me greatly.
ReplyDeleteThinking about it, I have enjoyed every Iron Man movie but there was always a "But it could have been so much better..."
At least it wasn't Daredevil or the Fantastic Four travesties. So I guess I should be thankful.
Again seriously I love your reviews keep up the great work. Not that I agree with you every time of course, ha!