Iron Man 3 Review: Part 1.

Thoughts: Iron Man 3, the long awaited follow-up to The Avengers, does it live up to the hype? Iron Man 3 has caused a divided on the opinion of the film: Half completely love it, and the other half just like it. This review is free of any spoilers. Unlike the previous Iron Man films, Shane Black has taken the helm as director of the film opposed to Jon Favreau and Shane Black does an excellent job with the film. He is credited for writing Lethal Weapon, which is one of my favorite action films, and his great sense of humor and witty dialogue is clearly present, except even better. Iron Man 3 throws Tony back in the metaphorical "cave" and he has to use his intelligence to get out of a jam. Iron Man 3 is completely unique compared to previous comic book films, it takes the genre is a new exciting direction, which works very well. What surprised me is how much of a detective/spy movie it turned out to be in a few parts. The action is a blend of Iron Man suit battles and classic action movie type action scenes, all of which was directed well (more on the action later in the review). As with most Marvel films, the true core are the heroes and how human and real the characters are portrayed, and Iron Man 3 is no exception. Robert Downey Jr. is better than ever as the always likeable Tony Stark. Sure, he may be a narcissistic jerk, but that is why he is such a deep and entertaining character. He laughs in the face of danger, Tony Stark is the opposite of every other comic book hero and that is what makes him and his films so unique. However what happened in The Avengers is catching up with him and he has to deal with it.

There is one kid in the movie named Harley and just about every time there is a kid in a film, said kid often times ruins the film or at least detracts from it, however that is not the case in Iron Man 3. Harley was great and his dialogue with Tony is hilarious. Tony talks all kinds of crap to the kid; he says things that you would never expect someone to say to a kid because Tony really does not care.
Now the part that will have audience members divided: the twist. While I will not spoil it, I actually liked the twist; it was clever and really smart when you think about it. Never before has something like it has been done with this type of film. I applaud Shane Black and company for taking such a gutsy move. Also there was only one minor scene that disappointed me in the slightest, although it was not a big problem by any means.
What surprised me the most about some critics’ reaction was that some thought it was a tad slow. To me at least, it was never slow or boring. When there was not action, there were either important plot progressions, or witty humor, not even for a second was I bored. Every scene felt necessary and had a purpose. Also the film did a good job of adaption various comic book stories, particularly Extremis, even with the liberties taken with the story.
Iron Man 3 is loaded with famous aspects of various comic book stories, most of which I am very familiar with and they were handled very well.
It is no secret that The Avengers and other films leading up to it are some of my favorite movies ever made, but how does Iron Man 3 stack up against them? Obviously, The Avengers is the best, it had everything action, drama, heart, and loveable characters, after that, my favorite is basically a tie between Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, with the first Iron Man being maybe being slightly ahead of the other two. Although it is early to say for Iron Man 3 and it will require multiple viewings, it is at least on par with the others films, if not better.
Disney is clearly not trying to screw with Marvel's films whatsoever in terms of content of the films. While there was nothing overtly inappropriate about the film, which is good, it definitely was not trying to be "kid friendly" and kept in line with the first two Iron Man movies; it barely even resembled a Disney movie, which was great.

 

Directed by: Shane Black
Genre: Comic Book, Action, Sci-Fi, Action Thriller,
Release Date: May 3, 2013 (US)
Running Time: 130 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13

The Good: Robert Downey Jr.'s performance is amazing as always, Epic final battle, Good adaptation of comic book, Great supporting cast, Jaw dropping plot twist, Perfect mix of comedy, plot and action,  Humanizes Tony, Suspenseful, Hilarious at times, Witty dialogue, Awesome action, Excellent performances, Perfect after credits scene, Stunning visual effects, Top notch soundtrack, Darker tone, Great character development, Solid pacing, Excellent direction, Good use of Avengers references, Exciting cameos, Unique tone, Challenges Tony like never before, Satisfying ending,

The Bad:


Because my review was going over one thousand words and I have not finished the second half completely, the review was split into two parts.

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.