Movie Review: Iron Man 3 (2013)

The true man of steel, Tony Stark, is back (yeah, I said it) and he is up against his strongest villain in the Iron Man series. Many people were hoping to that Iron Man 3 is better than Iron Man 2. Sadly, the first two movies pale in comparison with the newest release.

After the events of the Marvel’s The Avengers, Tony (Robert Downy Jr.) hasn’t been the same, suffering from anxiety attacks and nightmares, struggling in his relationship with Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and making a lot of armored suits (his “main” armor is now the MARK 42; he was using the MARK 7 in New York). At the same time, a man who calls himself The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) is claiming responsibility for a series of unusual international bombings, pretty much calling out both Tony and his best friend, Lt. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), who is now known as Iron Patriot.

It is up to Tony get his act together and to pull himself together and to stop the most dangerous baddie he’s had to face, not counting Loki. We can’t have Rhodey have all the fun, now can we?

Iron Man 3 delivers the trademark chemistry that was lacking in The Avengers. We still see Tony’s wit butt heads with Rhodes’ more no-nonsense demeanor and we still see Tony sweet-talk Pepper (okay, more of Tony sweet talking Pepper). The plot has twist on top of twist on top of twist, making the best story in the trilogy. Having a damn good villain helps, too.

The action has improved greatly from the first two Iron Man films. It is far more than the usual CGI Iron Man blowing something up. Not to say the CGI Iron Man is gone, there is more of a balance between CGI action and non-CGI action.

Iron Man 3 is a great start to the summer movie season and a great follow up to The Avengers. If you are a Marvel movie fan, you have absolutely no excuse to miss this movie.

Check out the other reviews for Iron Man 3:

Dave Howlett’s Review

Iain McNally’s Review

Michelle Ealey’s Review

Ryan Morrissey-Smith’s Review