Film Review: Iron Man 3

Superhero sequels abound but Iron Man has still got it.

Genre: Action

Rated: M

What’s It All About? This time around Iron Man has more than ever to contend with; domestic discord, anxiety attacks and count ‘em, two villains hell bent on destruction.

The Verdict: Still witty, still visually spectacular, the Iron Man franchise hasn’t lost its mojo.

3.5/5.0 from me, Margaret.

Superhero films are a dime a dozen and this year is no exception. So when a third entry in a superhero franchise (the fourth if you count last year’s The Avengers) hits the screens you can’t be blamed for expecting the quality to decrease along with the creativity.

"Iron Man 3 doesn’t shake its successful formula up too much but what it does it still does with panache; exhilarating action, plenty of humour and a terrific leading man in Downey Jr."

 

Thankfully, Iron Man mostly avoids those pitfalls to deliver another bout of exciting popcorn entertainment.



Downey Jr was less than impressed with his new bodyguard



We meet Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) a.k.a Iron Man again in the aftermath of The Avenger’s epic alien battle that wounded New York and Stark himself. He’s been rattled by the showdown with anxiety attacks and domestic discord with his Stark Industries CEO squeeze Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) the result.

But an easy distraction is his tinkering and this time around Stark has developed more mechanised suits than ever. He’s going to need them if he’s got any chance against two villains hell bent on destruction; Osama Bin Laden-esque The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and the slick, dastardly inventor Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), one of whom isn’t what they seem.



Double Trouble

Iron Man 3 doesn’t shake its successful formula up too much but what it does it still does with panache; exhilarating action, plenty of humour and a terrific leading man in Downey Jr who imbues Iron Man with a still irresistible charisma, still capable of a withering putdown - even to a child.



Damned if I'm a damsel in distress

 The support cast are all good; Paltrow gets a much bigger piece of the action this time round, Pearce who proved so chilling as the villain in last year’s Lawless again revels in being the bad boy and Kingsley shows a comic side we too rarely see.

With this instalment having raked in over $600 million and counting and an Avengers sequel on the way, we haven’t seen the last of Iron Man yet. Luckily there’s still fuel in the tank.