IRON MAN 3
Avenger Disassemble?
2013. OUT: SEPTEMBER 9.
CERT. 12
THIS FILM MARKS ROBERT DOWNEY JR.’S
FIFTH OUTING as titular hero Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man).
Though it is only the third film focusing on the character. His other
appearances in Avengers Assemble (one of the main characters) and Incredible
Hulk (cameo appearance) were smaller but still counted. Downey Jr. obviously
has a fair amount of experience with the character, then, and brings this to
the fore in this brilliant addition to the Marvel cinematic universe.
The
film had a very successful cinema release earlier this year, making over a
billion dollars in the box office. This made just a bit of profit on the film’s
budget of $200 million.
The
first film of the trilogy not to be directed by Jon Favreau (who remains to
play Stark’s bodyguard turned chief of security, Happy Hogan) the film is
instead helmed by Shane Black. Black has worked with Downey Jr. before on Kiss
Kiss Bang Bang, and brings some of the charm that the pairing worked on that
film into this one. The clever humour present in both films is the most obvious
of the qualities brought across.
Iron
Man 3 sees Stark struggling to cope following the events of the Avengers and
his near death at the hands of the troublesome Loki (Hiddleston). His stress
has caused his relationship with Pepper Potts (Paltrow) to falter, and he has
withdrawn into his work on designing his Iron Man suits.
The
relative peace is disrupted when the characters of the Mandarin (Kingsley) and
Aldrich Killian (Pearce) enter the equation. Stark’s friend and ally Col. James
Rhodes (played by Don Cheadle for the second time of three appearances of the
character) now styles himself as the ‘Iron Patriot’ using a suit of armour
liberated from Stark during the events of Iron Man 2.
The
two must work both independently and together, to stop the tyrant Mandarin from
causing acts of terror in the US. But the Mandarin is not what he appears to
be...
The
film’s tone is constantly humourous throughout; keeping a light tone on what is
actually a pretty dark story, in-keeping with the films roots in the
character’s extensive comic book history. The film bases itself on the
‘Extremis’ comic book arc, featuring characters and plot details from that
storyline.
The
topics that the film covers could be seen as a little mature for the films
target age range (but who are we kidding, it’s gonna be nerdy adults that watch
this) including topics such as terrorism, genetic manipulation and post
traumatic stress disorder. The film however makes good use of these in the
storyline, not being overly confusing.
Fans
of the series will obviously get more out of it, with references to other films
in the cinematic universe, mostly the Avengers. The film is best viewed as a
piece of the bigger whole. Saying this, the film would be perfectly viewable as
a standalone film, as most of the relevant information needed is covered in
flashbacks and dialogue. The film also features an oh-so-amusing cameo
appearance by Bruce Banner (Ruffalo) in a post-credits sting following up on
Banner leaving with Stark at the end of the Avengers.
The
character of Killian seems well thought out with a background relationship with
Stark extending to his pre-Iron Man days, and Guy Pearce really does the whole
cocky scientist thing very well.
The
film introduces the child character, Harley Keener, played by Ty Simpkins. As
much as Simpkins acts astonishingly well for a child actor, the role is just
that of your stereotypical sympathetic kid character. Keener, however, develops
to play well off of Stark and the two build quite a rapport during Stark’s time
stuck in Tennessee. However, you can’t help but feel that the character was put
in to appeal to the children watching it and give them a way to relate to the
film when the tone of the rest of the story is so dark.
Anybody
who has seen the film can tell you that (spoilers) it would appear to mark the
end of the character of Iron Man (although not that of Tony Stark. The film
teases post-credits that ‘Tony Stark will return’). Black stated in an
interview that the film marks the end of Downey Jr.’s contract with Paramount,
so it is understandable that they would want to wrap up the character’s story
arc. However, there has been talk of Downey Jr. reprising the role for the
second Avengers film, Age of Ultron, to be released in 2015, as well as a possible
fourth Iron Man film.
The
film is getting released in DVD, Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray 3D formats, but unless you
are an avid fan of 3D then you might want to give the 3D version a miss. The 3D
was added post-production, making it unimpressive and tacked on.
Overall,
it’s a must have for your Marvel DVD collection and can be proudly displayed
alongside the Avengers, Thor, Captain America and the other Iron Man films.
It’s worth picking up on Blu-Ray for the spectacular action sequences including
the much anticipated Air Force One scene.
EXTRAS
The
Blu-Ray includes the Marvel One-Shot: Agent Carter, continuing the story of the
character of Peggy Carter from Captain America. This little addition to the
cinematic universe is impressive, however short, and features some clever
writing.
The
extras also have a behind the scenes look at the upcoming film, Thor: The Dark
World, giving us a look at yet another film in the universe. It’s the usual
‘making-of’ fare but is the first we’ve seen of it other than the trailer so
far.
General features include many deleted and extra scenes, some of which
are quite good and are a shame to have been cut out from the actual film. There
are also some frankly hilarious bloopers and an in-depth look at the impressive
Air Force One scene, explaining how the amazing sequence was created.
Finally,
there is a more general documentary on the development on the character of Iron
Man and some of the extra suits featured in the final battle of the
film.
LEWIS GLADWELL
LEWIS GLADWELL
FILM **** EXTRAS ****
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