Iron Man 3
See, it’s not real.
+: plot, framing device, humour, RDJ still solid as ever, smart use of continuity
-: final act slightly meh.
Of all the billionaire superheroes out there, I’d argue Iron Man is the best one. The older I’ve become, the more I’ve sensed an essential lameness about Batman, for example: all those resources, and his best approach is to track down and punch people? Tony Stark, on the other hand, understands that a proper mission begins with the right equipment. Not for him the approach of having a sci-fi closet full of toys and reluctantly opening them for Justice League business (let’s not even get into the fact that, unlike Bruce Wayne, Stark seems to let himself enjoy life). As for Green Arrow and Iron Fist? Forget it.
Technically, he’s just a guy with no powers — and yet Iron Man looks, not just at Captain America, but Hulk and Thor, and says — “sure, I can compete with these guys”. And, in fact, he can, without any of the writer’s contrivances working in his favour (I’m not mentioning Batman. And I’m sure as hell not mentioning Frank Miller. Why would I?).
Which isn’t to say that the first run-in with these guys wouldn’t knock something out of him, and this is where Iron Man 3 comes in. The Avengers happened, and it happened most to Tony Stark, who was there, start to finish, until he almost died. Combined with situations where his former mentor, business rival and a bunch of Afghan terrorists attempted to kill him over the years, and it all proves too much. As it would.
Yet the film addresses this without ever being humourless, and without said humour being contrived; it’s all character-driven, from Tony’s habit of reference-nicknames (Trevor Slattery is variously “Sir Lawrence Oblivier”, “Meryl Streep” and “Ringo”) to his truly shitty first attempt at fathering:
— How much of that candy have you had?
— Two or three bowls.
— Can you still see straight?
— …sorta
— You’re fine…
Thank fuck he met Peter Parker second, right? Because whilst the film might seem to be an ending, in reality it’s part of the MCU’s long goodbye to Tony Stark. By the time to sequel to Infinity War arrives in 2019, Robert Downey Jr. will have spent at least as much time in both years and films “departing” the role of Iron Man as he ever spent in active duty, playing out the main character arc from playboy to philanthropist.
Starting with this film, Stark’s approach is to slap old and new lives together — to treat superheroics as an engineering solution. The first approach is brute-force, throwing dozens of suits at the problem, but the limitations become clear — the Extremis-enhanced soldiers tear them apart a little too easily; quantity leads to quality sacrifices.
IM3 might be one of the most slyly innovative superhero films of the 21st Century: sure, plenty noticed a vague, passing similarity to The Dark Knight Rises (2012), but this is probably the first superhero film to deploy an unreliable narrator, at least three years before Deadpool (2016), and its use is much more extensive (given, for example, the fire-breathing scene, we can’t be sure how much of anything in this film is truly real; Shane Black, intentionally or otherwise, created a phildickian vortex).
It’s this, too, that makes it pretty much impossible to talk about this film without mentioning the Mandarin. Is the reveal a copout? Inevitably, on a metatextual level, yes (to the tune of $121m in Chinese gross), and I’ll admit that it initially annoyed me. Combined with the framing device, though, it isn’t: all is illusion in Stark’s world, even the villains he fights, even the heroics he performs (the ‘barrel of monkeys’ sequence is one of the ballsiest, smartest feats Iron Man’s performed in the MCU — until it turns out an empty, remote-controlled suit did it). In a way, Aldrich Killian’s biggest mistake isn’t even the old villain-explains-the-plan trope; it’s the moment he declares “I am the Mandarin!”. The hall of mirrors shatters; the way out of the maze is clear.
In conclusion, Iron Man 3 is the strongest of the MCU films to date, not least by being, thematically, the most ambitious. Shane Black puts his stamp on this so hard you could cast his leg from the impression, but — despite the fanboy whining — it’s deeply rooted in the comics and their continuity. Making both a Shane Black movie, a superhero movie and some third thing beyond that is an impressive trifecta, but I’d argue it happened.
And so, onwards. Iron Man 3 is technically the first film of ‘Phase 2’, which would last until Ant-Man in 2015, although on a more mundane note, it’s the last time Paramount would get to stick their logo in front of an MCU film. Even as Iron Man’s story came to a sort-of ending, others had to continue, tackling the difficult second entry — with, as it turned out, varying degrees of success.
High Points: most of it, really.
Low Points: the jokes get a little forced by the third act.
Curios: there are 16 Rose Hills in the United States as of 2017; several are in the South, however defined. None are in Tennessee, and Rose Hill, Tennessee is not in the comics. The town isn’t really portrayed negatively, either, even if it’s a little stereotypical. So… why, exactly?
Flagrant Product Placement: Forbes magazine, Real Time with Bill Maher, Joan Rivers, ABB, Audi.
Connections to Elsewhere: the Avengers (film and organisation) gets mentioned but not really shown; and of course, there’s the end credits scene (below). Most notable are Tony’s attempts to create a sort of on-the-fly gauntlet defence, something which he would perfect by Captain America: Civil War.
Stan Lee Cameo: beauty pageant judge; gives the Elk Ridge blonde a 10. Stan himself doesn’t get one, though. (3/10)
End Credits: The Hulk wasn’t listening to anything Tony said. Funny, although less so each time (despite the ‘temperament’ line). (6/10)
10
Next: Thor: The Dark World (2013)
