The skillful evolution of Iron Man

Rating: 8/10 (11 May 2013)

To judge by many of the reviews here, it's possible that fans of the Marvel comic may be too close to the character of Tony Stark/Iron Man to be objective, because I didn't read many cogent criticisms of this as a stand-alone film. There's a lot of lamenting about how it should or could have been done. But Iron Man 3 does stand alone, and it stands tall.
The movie is a cleverly constructed stride forward in this franchise, which is the most entertaining of any comic-to-screen work. It's popularity and success is largely due to Robert Downey Jr's unique charisma, of course. However, considering John Favreau's wonderful comic turn as Happy Hogan, I can't help but conclude that a lot of the success is due to his approach to the material.
Most impressive for me was the way Tony Stark and Iron Man are examined in relation to each other. The film begins with Stark having tirelessly (sleeplessly, in fact) constructed more than 40 iron suits (including one each for Pepper and Rhodey), the new models being generously articulated-- hundreds if not thousands of components whizz toward and assemble on him on command. That deconstruction of the suit becomes a plot device, allowing Stark to go through the various fight scenes in various degrees of armor-- fully encased, partially, or entirely without the suit. We're watching him evolve.
The suit is also a skin, and a weapon. When Pepper wears part of hers, she gets insight into Tony that she could never otherwise have had: I understand how attached you are to it now, she says (I paraphrase). And in the end, Tony commands the suits into whizzing action: first as an army, and then in a spectacular display in which he reclaims himself as a vulnerable human man.
This is a well-conceived film that moves Iron Man forward more as man than machine. The only disappointment for me was the pointless 3-D technology. It didn't hurt; it just wasn't necessary. I would write more, but I need to see the film at least once more before I can fully explore all the talent that went into it. The post- credit sequence with Downey and Mark Ruffalo is not only fun but useful, for making the audience appreciate all the names the roll past, and all their roles. Among them: Mark Stoeckinger (Star Trek 2009, Prometheus, Unstoppable, etc., etc., including multiple episodes of Miami Vice), whose sound editing in this film is as good as it gets-- no small praise for this genre of movie.