Downey Jr. does his best without The Avengers

Rating: 6/10 (28 April 2013)

Since the conclusion of Marvel's The Avengers last summer, everyone has been begging for details about how the 2012 juggernaut will impact Iron Man III. The list of questions has been endless, but the biggest question (outside of plot points) is can Iron Man III live up to the worldwide success of The Avengers? The fact is The Avengers is the biggest summer blockbuster of all-time. It sits at number three on the list of the top-grossing films of all-time. So, how do you follow that kind of success? The easiest way to answer that question is to just admit that it's silly to think any film will ever top The Avengers in terms of success – at least for any other comic book film, that is. We saw The Dark Knight Rises fall in the aftermath of The Avengers, so if Chris Nolan's Batman couldn't surpass the success of The Avengers, how can another Iron Man sequel can do it? The answer to that question is: momentum. Simply put, the interest created by The Avengers will most likely thrust Iron Man III to heights most people couldn't possibly imagine. Regardless, this is just speculation and it's far too early to tell how Iron Man III will play out at the box office, but in terms of the overall quality of the film – well, we have that answer for you.
Directed by Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), Iron Man III stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man. In the wake of the events that took place during the invasion of New York, Tony Stark has not been able to sleep and frequently experiences panic attacks. Waiting for the next big attack to strike, Stark has been in his basement building an army of Iron Men, all the while a terrorist leader, The Mandarin (Ben Kinsley), has been strategically setting off bombs all over the United States. One of these bombs catches Stark's old body guard and new Stark Industries' chief of security, Happy Hogan, in the crossfire – which quickly gains Stark's attention. At the same time, Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearch) has made his presence known, using an "explosive" new state of the art rehabilitation program, known as Extremis. Suddenly, Stark finds himself trapped in the evil web of The Mandarin, along with the impact of the Extremis program, not to mention struggling to protect the people he cares about most. Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Rebecca Hall, and Jon Favreau also star in supporting roles.
Coming as no surprise, Iron Man III's screen time belongs largely to Robert Downey Jr. Obviously, Downey Jr. continues with the character he's made famous and doesn't miss a beat with his usual wit and charm. Don Cheadle and Gwyneth Paltrow both play their usual supporting roles as (respectively) the armored sidekick War Machine (now called The Iron Patriot) and the damsel in distress. The best part of comic book films is that they're always chalked full of goodies, including character additions. Iron Man III sees the addition of Iron Man's arch-nemesis, The Mandarin, played by Sir Ben Kinsley – who is nothing short of treat in this film. They couldn't have picked a better actor to portray this villain (there's a huge swerve involving this character). Finally, like Jeff Bridges, Mickey Rourke, and Sam Rockwell in the previous Iron Man films, Guy Pearce fills the role of the jealous scientist, desperate to destroy Tony Stark – just because he's smarter than everyone else. Sadly, Pearce is probably the least interesting character addition to the franchise.
Now – here's the good, the bad, and the ugly. First and foremost, Iron Man III is a comic book lover's delight. If you were a fan of the Extremis storyline in the comics, you'll absolutely adore what these filmmakers have done with this movie adaption. The bad news is for the film lovers of The Avengers. If you thought Iron Man III would be full of cameos from Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Pine, or Chris Hemsworth – you'll be very disappointed. Without specifically spoiling anything, you will get to see at least one member of The Avengers (briefly) make an appearance. And, the ugly has to start with an apology. Sorry, kids – there's no Ant-Man debut, no reference to the next Thor film, and definitely nothing to do with the mysterious Guardians of the Galaxy (unless Shane Black decides to add another scene after the fact, like Joss Whedon in The Avengers). This film is completely centered on Tony Stark and the rest of the Iron Man characters.
Generally speaking, the plot isn't all that it's been talked up to be. Yes, the film is full of action, and this particular sequel is Tony Stark's version of the Empire Strikes Back. He gets an ass kicking in this film that just keeps on giving. However, for anyone to even compare The Avengers to Iron Man III is completely and utterly delusional about the quality and scale of these two comic book films. For the average movie-goer, Iron Man is on par with its predecessors, but the first Iron Man film is still the best in this trilogy. Disapprovingly, the landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is relatively unchanged after this film, meaning – in the grand scheme of things – Iron Man III is a bit of a letdown.
Overall, Iron Man III is an average addition to the Marvel film library, but it doesn't even come close to the quality of The Avengers. Unfortunately, the plot lacks meaningful progression for the future of the Iron Man characters (other than Pepper Potts) – yet if you're just simply looking at Iron Man III as a solo story and means of entertainment, it will be difficult to find a better action film in the summer of 2013.