Fresh, thrilling and surprising, IM3 is NOT the disaster users are saying it is...

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2013)

It's Christmas. Tony Stark, the self proclaimed playboy, billionaire, philanthropist is in somewhat of a rut after the monumental events of The Avengers. He can't sleep, and when he does has haunting flashbacks of that day in Manhattan. What's worse, a new terrorist called The Mandarin emerges and induces more country spread panic for the Americans, whilst Aldrich Killian comes back for a spot of oneupmanship, with his new invention, the Extremis serum.
The creative journey taken by Black and Marvel with Stark is a smart one. In stripping back the armour (literally), they have not only rid the franchise of Iron Man 2's flaws, but also brought the focus well and truly back in their most powerful of weapons: Robert Downey Jr. Whereas in Iron Man 2 a certain complacency was evident in his performance, Downey completely eradicates that with an honest, vulnerable and achingly human performance, with his trademark wit and sarcasm very much present and correct.
His seemingly new found energy and drive for the franchise is compounded by the terrific supporting cast. Gyneth Paltrow once again proves a welcome presence, and her natural chemistry with Downey is made all the more shiny by the superb script; the actors here get the best dialogue to deliver of the whole franchise, and it is obvious the difference it has made. Ben Kingsley, in the trickiest role, proves very successful, with his menacing and surprising turn proving to be one of the major rewards of the film (and THAT twist will be a talking point for years to come. Off the record, I absolutely adored it.) Of the newcomers, though, it is Guy Pearce who makes the biggest impact, with a charismatic, threatening and wholly satisfying performance as Aldrich Killian, head honcho of think tank AIM. Don Cheadle seems to have settled in his much more defined and driven role of Rhodes, now with him being the straight Glover to Downey's Gibson, a genius decision from Black.
The most impressive thing at play here is balance. Writers Black and Pearce have created a sharp, witty and quite frankly hilarious script that feels fresh and original. They have brought back the off beat energy irreverent tone that made the first one such a blast. Gone are the plodding and leaden sub plots of the first sequel, and in comes a masterfully constructed rug pulling narrative; the perfect foundation to build on Marvel's most frivolous and entertaining character. Not only this, but IM3 marks the evolution of Marvel from a risk assessing, cautious world builder to a brash and brilliant risk taker. It seems in every sense that Marvel and Black have embraced and embodied the very attitude of Tony Stark. A welcome playfulness is present in Black's script writing; a mid act introduction of a child being the most convention-smashingly inspired, allowing Downey to show his remarkably adaptable and chameleon like range. He is able, in a blink of an eye, to go from vulnerable to lip-smackingly confident. Don't be concerned, Black avoids cliché with some brilliantly judged moments in this mid-act tone changer (on child revealing his abandonment, 'Dads leave, quit being such a pussy about it'). The emotion is never a sacrifice for the gags though, with the threat of The Mandarin and the vulnerability of Stark being ever present and constantly reminded of, even if at times the film runs the risk of being too gleefully irreverent. The script's accomplished smarts don't stop there, with Pearce and Black also managing to play on the damsel in distress plot device (is Pepper the saved or in fact the savior?), whilst also providing wholly satisfying and engaging arcs for its characters. Inevitably, though, the journey of Tony is the most thematically and emotionally satisfying, possibly of the whole Marvel canon.
A recurring criticism of both IM and IM2 was the uninspiring and repetitive action, with IM2 being undoubtedly the biggest offender. Simply put, two dudes in varying types of suits fighting each other isn't very interesting, nor is watching Iron Man kill hundreds of clone robots with one single swivel at all thrilling. IM3 solves this problem with aplomb, and then some. This is in no small part down to the ingenious use of Stark's mark 42, which can, on command, send its components flying onto Stark's body, allowing for hilarious slapstick and some genuinely tense set pieces. In fact, every action sequence in IM3 hits the spot; highlights being a Tom Clancy-esque action ballet executed flawlessly by an out of suit Stark, or the thrilling climax, which makes brilliant use of Tony's over-zealous amount of suits whilst offering further surprises and heart in the mouth moments. Iron Man 3 succeeds in all counts, meaning that we are left pining for Downey to sign another contract already. Oh, and be sure to stay for the hilarious post credits sequence.