REVIEW: Iron Man 3 (Road to Infinity War)
Alright, let us continue The Papi Chulo RADIO Road to Infinity War (RTIW for short) review event with the seventh movie in the lineup, Iron Man 3.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLorLVa95Xo[/embedyt]
After the ground backing Avengers, we start Phase 2 of the MCU with the third entry in the Iron Man trilogy. Is Iron Man 3 a great threequel or does it go down in flames?
[WPGP gif_id=”9075″ width=”600″]
Before we get into it, it should be said that there will be spoilers if you haven’t seen it yet (Although since it’s 5 years old, you should have seen it already).
The story takes place after the Avengers and we see Tony Stark (Robert Downey JR.), doing his own thing and still trying to make improvements to his Iron Man suits. While everything seems to be holly jolly (Because this movie takes place around Christmas Time). The Ten Rings terrorist group resurfaces bring a new leader known as the Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley), he is threatening the President (William Sadler), with war and destroying certain monuments around the US. The newly branded Iron Patriot (Don Cheadle), is tasked with serving his country and putting a stop to Mandarin. While this is happening, an old colleague from Tony’s past, Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), resurfaces with a new advanced form of genetic manipulation called Extremis. When Tony threatens the Mandarin with war, the Mandarin destroys Tony’s Mansion and he is saved by JARVIS who blasts him to rural Tennessee. While in Tennessee, he meets a young kid named Harley (Ty Simpkins), who helps Tony repair his suit and also investigate more into AIM. Tony is finally able to locate the source of the Mandarin broadcasts and breaks into the mansion using a bunch of cool DIY weapons. While he is there, he finds out the truth. The guy who we thought was the mandarin was nothing but an actor named Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley). Tony is then captured along with Rhodes and Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow), Tony and Rhodes escape but the Iron Patriot suit is stolen from Rhodes. The president is then kidnapped from Air Force One by one of the Mandarins Extremis goons in the Iron Patriot suit. This all leads to one final confrontation at a docking area where the president is being dangled from a height in the Iron Patriot suit and it’s up to Tony and Rhodes to save him along with Pepper. This all leads to a giant epic battle with a whole lot of Iron Man suits and the big twist finally revealed to be Killian as the true Mandarin. After this, Tony saves Pepper, destroys all his suit and starts to rebuild a new life for him and Pepper. Tony gets the shrapnel removes and Pepper is cured of the Extremis.
One major theme of this movie is Rebirth. We see Tony trying to keep busy after the new york incident while he deals with PTSD, Insomnia and Panic Attacks. Then when everything is taken away from Tony, he rebuilds and defeats not only the bad guys but also comes to terms with his inner demons in the end. This is the best part about Iron Man 3 because every hero has to eventually rebuild themselves from the ground up in order to discover their true selves.
The acting in this movie is also good. RDJ always kills it as Iron Man and Tony Stark and he has practically become the real-life Iron Man in a way. Ben Kingsley also does a great job as the fake Mandarin and also as Trevor Slattery. Even though I still hate that twist, you can tell that Kingsley had fun with the dual role and he makes it work. Everyone else just kind of blends in and doesn’t leave such a mark on the viewer. Especially Guy Pierce as the real Mandarin. He doesn’t really make a great villain and ends up dying in the end so it’s just forgettable at best.
The CGI is another one of the stronger aspects of the film. Iron Man always looks great, the Extremis people look awesome but scary at the same time and the huge sets look impressive as well.
The Verdict:
I remembered Iron Man 3 being way better. The Mandarin twist was a huge piss off and I never liked that at all. However, I thought everything else in the movie was good. After rewatching it, I can say that Iron Man 3 is a mess. The story is fine but the execution and everything else about it is misguided or downright fails. Out of all the MCU movies to date, this one is one of the forgettable ones (But still not as bad as Incredible Hulk). The best way to sum up this movie is that it has a lot going on but no substance behind it.
6.5/10
Next up, we return to Asgard to see what Thor is up too in the other mixed bag of a film, Thor: The Dark World.