Iron Man 3: Cool your jets and enjoy

Well it's almost summer, and the for at least the second year in a row we've been presented with another entry from Marvel in the third installment of the Iron Man films, which most would argue have been the flagship attractions of the Avengers franchise. Before I begin this review, I would like to offer sincere apologies in advance to any of my comic-reading friends- I am no expert in the Marvel universe and thus my humble opinion is simply that of a layman and you can take it as you will.

Iron Man 3 catches up with Tony Stark not too long after his adventures with his Avenger buddies and apparently the experience has been too much for him, leaving him to a life of bad dreams and panic attacks. Apart from that though, life probably couldn't be better for our hero, especially since his girlfriend Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow) runs Stark Industries and he gets to stay at home and tinker with his suits all day. Of course, all this comes to a screeching halt in the face of a terrorist named The Mandarin, who "teaches" the U.S. lessons by blowing up innocent people around the world.

In order to talk about Iron Man 3, I think we first have to honest with ourselves about the nature of the Avengers series. Let's face it, none of these movies have particularly amazing storylines, because truth be told, unless you are Christopher Nolan it's pretty hard to surprise anyone in this genre anymore. Fortunately for us, moviemakers realised a while ago that there are only so many ways to save the world that won't bore us to death, and so movies like Ironman and Avengers are ripe with action but also with a much more important element in humour. The Ironman series is and has always has been completely tied to Robert Downey Jr's ability to be like that one slightly jerkish friend you have and keep around because he delivers hilarious insights every once in awhile. Iron Man 3 is no different, and the Robert Downey Jr. show continues, aiding in any lacking moments with much needed injections of sarcasm and wit that only he can deliver. At this point in the series, Robert Downey Jr seems so natural in this role, perhaps because the Tony Starks' story of resurrection and redemption mirrors his own. In any case, as much as I've gotten used to Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in the past few years, I'm not quite sure if I still find myself as much as a believer in the whole Avengers deal.


Throughout Iron Man 3, Tony Stark finds himself outnumbered, outgunned and hopeless, mostly as a result of his own former transgressions. The attempted character development and Tony's panic attacks are cute enough, but it's rather hard to explain to the comic book ignoramus in me why he doesn't just call up his avenger buddies to come help him when he's in serious trouble. But like I said previously, all this griping is just further proof that story really doesn't matter that much when it comes to these movies.

When I got my ticket for Iron Man 3, I expected laughs, some action, and some Gwyneth Paltrow, and that's exactly what I received. Sure, I still can't take Don Cheadle seriously in an action role,  and there has yet to be an Iron Man movie where the villain doesn't at some point use Stark's technology for bad (you'd think it wouldn't be so easy for others to use it) , but Iron Man 3 is still better than Iron Man 2 and for that I'll count my blessings.


Note on the traditional post-credit sneak peak: Really not so much of a sneak peak as an extra forty second scene that is pretty forgettable. It really is ok to leave and not stay the extra ten minutes-  hell you might even beat the traffic out.