Review: Iron Man 3 – More heart, less steel

By Ayomide Tayo

Movie- Iron Man 3

Actors- Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Ben Kingsley

Director- Shane Black

Running Time- 130 minutes

In the third installment of the ridiculously successful Iron Man franchise, Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) strips himself of his steely gear and proves that the man makes the suit and not the other way round.

We’ve seen the cocky Tony Stark fight evil forces with his witty one-liners, bad ass suits and a human like computer personal assistant in the first two installments of Iron Man 3. However Tony Stark’s heroic DNA gets slightly altered in the 2012 blockbuster ‘Avengers’. The usually self-centered hero puts himself on the line to save mankind. His near death experience had its repercussions and that is where Iron Man 3 starts.

Tony Stark is suffering from anxiety attacks originating from his heroics in New York with his super hero buddies. The vulnerability of our star man is refreshing to see. He has trouble sleeping and buries himself in his lab working on different variations of the Iron Man suit (the scene where he brings them out is pure geek heaven). This affects his relationship with his longtime girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Oh yes with all this weight on him (pun intended), there is a new villain on the loose- the Mandarin who strikes at will and leaves no trace. In a moment of madness that only he can conjure, Tony Stark goes overboard and directly challenges the Mandarin. It wasn’t a wise move.

This is where all the fun begins as our hero is forced out of his comfort zone. Without his suit, Tony Stark has to dig deep within himself to save the President of the United States and Pepper Potts. If that isn’t hard enough he suffers panic attacks along the way. Tony Stark who does things solo has an accomplice (forced on him) – a little boy who helps the billionaire super hero find the hero within him.

It is rare for a franchise to reboot itself at this stage but Iron Man 3 does- which is the charm. Shane Black takes over the director’s chair from Jon Favreau (who appears in the film). The change results in a darker and less blinged Iron Man 3. Shane Black and Robert Downey Jr. having worked together on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in 2005 reunite and their chemistry shows on screen with the actor reeling off the director’s oddball dialogue perfectly.

The over the top effects (the barrel of monkeys scene is definitely one for the books) and explosions are still around but the reflective and dark tone of the movie is the real gem. Taking a page from the Batman trilogy, Iron Man 3 deviates from its predecessors by being meatier and less popcorn.

The storyline itself isn’t far from what you would expect from super hero movies- a villain bent on world domination blah blah blah. The twist on the Mandarin is a new take on how to present the bad guy…and a funny one too. Iron Man 3’s girlfriend gets more screen time and more action. Her role at the end however feels like the result of her agent negotiating more scenes for her than anything else.

Iron Man 3 gets to do what most third installments fail to do- end the trilogy on a high note. With a new director who was bold to take Iron Man to a new and darker level, Tony Stark discovers the hero within himself. Let’s just say the billionaire genius finally gets to use his heart more than his brain.

 Rating- 3.5/5.