Random Nerdness: 'Iron Man 3' SPOILER FREE REVIEW!!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

'Iron Man 3' SPOILER FREE REVIEW!!

by Chris Lockhart (aka: Chrisloc1701)

The following is a quick spoiler free review, with just a minor spoiler towards the end of the review. However I am going to be referring to images and plot lines already seen in the trailers leading up to the film, so if you have been avoiding the trailers you may be spoiled by that. But I will not get into specifics about the film itself.

To be honest I have been having a hard time putting into words how I truly felt about this film. Friends and family have been asking me if it was good. My answers is yes it is a good film. Is it as good as last years 'Avengers' as some reviewers have been claiming? No it is not. Is it better than 'Iron Man 1'? What made Iron Man 1 great was that it was a surprise that no one really was expecting and it set the tone for the forthcoming Marvel films. It was Robert Downey Jr's triumphant return to acting greatness...so No, Iron Man 3 is not as good as the first film.

'Iron Man 3' is a good film. Robert Downey Jr is great as always as Tony Stark. Gwyneth Paltrow is her usual best as 'Pepper Potts'. Once again Don Cheadle is great as Colonel Rhodes/'Iron Patriot' ('War Machine' with a paint job) but he again is under used in this film. One reviewer had pointed out that IM3 Director Shane Black had written the 'Lethal Weapon' films and that he brought his cop-buddie skills to this film for Cheadle & Downey. But again Cheadle was under played and I would have loved to have seen more interaction between Iron Man & Patriot. Sir Ben Kingsley was excellent in his portrayal of the movie version of the Marvel Comics villain 'The Mandarin'. However I'm sure die-hard Marvel Comics fans will be outraged by the movie version of the Mandarin. I was never a fan of the comic book character version of the 'The Mandarin' so what they did with the movie version didn't bother me, in fact I loved it. But I'm sure some people will be pissed off with what they did in the film. Jon Favreau returns as 'Happy Hogan', but gets almost no screen time. Favreau is great in these films and I wanted to see more of him, but sadly it was not meant to be. Secretly I had hoped if Shane Black was going to go the 'Lethal Weapon' route we would have seen Downey/Cheadle & Favreau in the cop buddy sense much like the Gibson/Glover & Pesci 'Lethal Weapon' dynamic...maybe in 'Iron Man 4'...??? Guy Pearce also plays an important role in this film...however I really didn't care for the character he played in the film. While watching this film I was really wishing Sam Rockwell would have returned for this film playing 'Justin Hammer' as he had in 'Iron Man 2', but sadly he was absent. Hammer is a character with potential and Rockwell is an amazing actor, so I'm hoping if there is a 4th film he will be in it.

Overall the story was not that great, it was good but not great. After the incredible origin story seen in 'Iron Man 1', and the great story seen in the 'Avengers', I expected more from this latest Marvel film, but I didn't get more. To be honest I'm not sure if this film and it's story is not much better than 'Iron Man 2'. But to be clear I thought 'Iron Man 2' was a good film too, I know fans have panned that film but I still think it was a good film. Iron Man 3 is as good as the second film. The special effects in this film are amazing, there is definitely a lot of great action sequences to thrill any fan of these films.

And as always with the Marvel films there is a bonus scene at the end of the credits. (MINOR SPOILER) At the end of the film there is a 'James Bond'-ish promise at the end of the credits stating in writing 'Tony Stark will return'. I'm thinking they put that in to put an end to the rumours that Downey would be stepping down from the Marvel films. They could recast I guess, but I doubt it. I'm sure he'll be back in 'Avengers 2', maybe a fourth 'Iron Man' film after that. Judging by the box office numbers thus far I'm sure Downey has added greatly to his bank account and will continue to do so by making more Stark appearances.

I would give this film ***3 Stars out of 5. A good Marvel film, definitely worth going to the theatres to watch.