Movie Review: Iron Man 3

Traipsed off to see Iron Man 3 last night. I approached the movie with no small amount of trepidation. Third movie in the series? New director? We all know what happened to Spider Man 3, and that was with the same everything. I’ve really enjoyed the first two Iron Man movies. Could it keep it up?

Yes, my friends. It could.

It’s helped a ton by Robert Downey Jr. of course. He is Iron Man. The script is pretty tight, too. It’s just a shade over 2 hours, which felt like just about the right length. Long enough to feel like it had some heft, but not so long that you just wanted it over. The plot was twisty enough to be surprising, but not convoluted. All good things.

The basics are simple: Iron Man can’t sleep. Starting to suffer from some panic attacks. Fall out from the Avengers plot line. I liked that–making a super hero have normal problems. It felt true to life, in a super hero-y way. Add in Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin character, who’s using terrorism to scare the pants off the country. Iron Man vs Mandarin. Fight!

It’s more complicated than that, of course, but that’s enough to go on. I think this movie is a hair less good than the first Iron Man, but a much stronger showing than the second–which I also quite enjoyed. It’s got the elements you now expect in an Iron Man flick: humor, action, explosions, awesome effects. Really, just another strong showing from Marvel. As I look back on what Marvel’s done with their material vs what other people did with it, I’m amazed. Take a glance:

Pre-Marvel:
Daredevil
The Punisher
Ghost Rider
Elektra
Fantastic Four
Hulk
(Yes, you did have Spider-Man and the X-Men franchises, but still–there’s a lot of dreck there.)

Post-Marvel:
Iron Man
Thor
Captain America
Avengers
The Incredible Hulk

Granted, Marvel hasn’t been doing it for as long yet, but that’s still some impressive lineup. Not every one was a home run in my opinion, but they were all doubles or triples at least. Go Marvel! (And go Disney for not getting in the way!)

Anyway. Three and a half stars from me. Highly recommended. I saw it in 3D and really was glad I did. Immersive. Spectacle. That’s what you want for your extra money with a 3D movie.

Who else has seen it?