The Best of the Iron Man

Rating: 9/10 (26 April 2015)

Iron Man 3 is the best of the franchise. Despite the animosity of many fans, they overlook the gems that make this one really outshine the previous installments. Tony Stark must face himself, his fears, his doubts, and his own anxieties. Troubled with PTSD from the New York incident, he reminisces about duping a quiet, brilliant man and turning him into a desperate, psychotic killer. Stark must deal with this in his present state, which is straining his relationship with Pepper Potts. To deal with his problems, he tinkers with his suits, and hides from reality. Reality hits hard when the Mandarin strikes. A terrorist, the madman is responsible for various bombings in the world. He plays a cat-and-mouse game with the U.S. Rhodes, now the Iron Patriot, seeks the Mandarin while Tony Stark starts on his own trail that leads him to Killian - who has a unique tie to the Mandarin. This leads to a lot of adventure, excitement, and emotions. Many people have griped that this was the same plot as "The Incredibles," but plot devices are often borrowed from other sources. What really makes the plot work, though, is that not everything appears to be what it seems. Another plot strength is we see a more human Tony Stark whose liabilities cause more problems than his strength. He does have to work through the problems of the unintended consequences of previous actions. The one plot weakness was the use of a boy, Harley. Ty Simpkins does play him well, but it seemed unnecessary and a device used to grab kids into the picture. There are a couple of other plot holes and devices that are hackneyed, but the movie still works for a couple of other reasons. One is Robert Downey, Jr. Face it, Tony Stark was the one he was meant to play. He does it well. In this one, he shows some true acting by taking it to another level where Tony Stark has to face himself and reconcile his narcissism and grandiose ego juxtaposed by his PTSD. We also have good performances from Gwenyth Paltrow, Jon Favareau and the villain. Another strength is the direction that takes the plot evenly, and producing a good story with real characters that are not overplayed by the special effects. Iron Man 3 is definitely a good movie, and a rare oddity where the third in a trilogy is the best of the bunch.