[Films] Iron Man 3

Blockbuster season starts early this year, with a couple of big releases around the end of April and the start of May. The first of these is Iron Man 3, the concluding part of the highly successful trilogy starring Robert Downey Junior.

I really enjoyed the first two Iron Man films. I was never a huge fan of Iron Man as a character before this trilogy, but my only exposure had really been the animated series. It was part of a raft of Marvel  animated television series, along with the X-Men, Hulk, Spiderman, and the Fantastic 4. I always preferred the X-Men and Spiderman, but Downey's portrayal of Tony Stark really won me over the first time around, and was even better in the second instalment. I was certainly excited for part three after the trailers, but did it live up to my expectations?

How cool is this logo? (Credit: collider.com)

Well, yes and no. I really enjoyed Iron Man 3. It was everything that I'd come to expect from the trilogy: a serious storyline with overtones of relationship tensions, lots of action, and plenty of humour. But there was also a lot in this film that surprised me.

The most obvious of those was the change in the character of Tony Stark. The swagger and the self-confidence (veering into arrogance) were still there, but it was very obviously a shell this time around. I was pleased to see that the film was tied into the continuity that Marvel have been building, with reference to the events of Avengers Assemble. I was even more pleased to see a plot thread revolving around Tony Stark's reaction to those events, and the PTSD that he was dealing with.

Tony Stark is not in his happy place in this film. (Credit: collider.com)

Something that I think this film did better than either of the previous instalments was the main villain of the film. In Iron Man 1 and Iron Man 2 they were other guys in suits who had a grudge against Tony Stark. This time the villain still has a bone to pick with him, but it doesn't seem to be the main motivation for him. Actually, his motivation isn't entirely clear, but it's only on looking back at the film that this becomes clear and it certainly doesn't ruin the film.

The Mandarin is an excellent character, portrayed with great menace by Ben Kingsley, and the evil scientist Killian is equally well done by Guy Pearce (it's good to see him back in a big film again). There's also a delicious twist about two thirds of the way through the film that I honestly didn't see coming at all, but  which makes perfect sense in the context of the rest of the film.

The two villains of the piece: the Mandarin on the left, and Killian on the right. Both

are excellent characters. (Credit: comicbookmovie.com)

The streak of humour that runs through the Iron Man films is alive and well here. I felt as though there were more laugh out loud moments and one liners this time around, but there were several times when I felt that a particular quip stood out a bit too much. Almost as if it had been inserted purely to get a laugh, rather being a natural part of the scene. I suppose that you could work that back into Tony Stark's frame of mind, and him forcing humour into situations to help himself get through them, but I honestly didn't see it like that. Funny moments in films like this are great, as they help to break up the action, but at times it was almost too much.

One of the best bits from the trailer I saw prior to the film was all of the suits turning up at once. Let me say right now that the moment didn't disappoint. The final battle scene sees Stark call on all of the suits that he's built, and he's been a busy man since the Avengers! There are loads of them, all remote controlled by his AI. Again, this seems a bit 'out there' but in the context of the film and series it works perfectly. The specialisms of some of them are also used quite creatively, and the way that Stark jumps between them is brilliant to watch.

So many Iron Man suits! (Credit: businessinsider.com)

In the end, I don't think Iron Man 3 was quite as good as Iron Man 2. That being said, I really, really enjoyed the film, and would wholeheartedly recommend it to fans of the series.