Iron Man 3 proves its mettle...

Rating: 9/10 (8 February 2014)

Iron Man 3 is the seemingly 'finale' to the Iron Man trilogy with this particular tale focused on Tony Stark's most personal battle yet. A sequel to both Iron Man 2 and The Avengers simultaneously, the movie deals with Tony Stark, developing a crippling case of an anxiety disorder who obsesses over creating more and more Iron Man suits to be prepared for any possible attack. After dealing with Gods, aliens, and living legends, Tony has realized that he and his loved ones are more vulnerable to attack than he originally thought. This couldn't come at a worse time as a new terrorist bogeyman, The Mandarin, has begun a campaign of fear with an almost mythical sense of anonymity. After one particular attack that hits close to home, Stark publicly challenges The Mandarin, leading to a retaliation where Stark is on the run relying on his wits, rather than his armor, to save the day.
What gets me boiled is that people get the wrong impression about this film. There is one particular revelation which is a big "gotcha" moment that was absolutely brilliant. The film's thematic content lies in the idea of identity, status, and keeping up an image - something that Tony Stark and nearly every character in the film deals with, including the humble Happy Hogan who finally gets more of an opportunity to shine than in the previous iterations of the franchise. The narrative gives way to a political-espionage/detective story of Tony piecing together the mystery of The Mandarin, the source of his attacks, and how he fits in the puzzle. A great mystery yarn is peppered with terrific action scenes (including an air-rescue scene and a big-finale fight that will go down as some of the best in the superhero genre) alongside a fairly damning portrayal of the current military industrial complex and the rather absurd concept of the American government's idea of "keeping the peace." Robert Downey Jr. is awesome as Tony Stark, but that almost doesn't require mentioning. Gweneyth Paltrow is really able to come out into her own in this film as Pepper, who was usually treated as the stability anchor for Tony, gets to be the voice of reason and gets plenty bad-ass moments of her own. Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian is an absolute treat; a charismatic industrial leader who's spurn by Tony gives him unforeseen motivations. Rebecca Hall plays Maya Hansen, and while she's fine in the role, there isn't terribly too much for her to do outside of provide some key plot elements and give some pretty good banter coming back as one of Tony's old flames.
Ben Kingsley plays The Mandarin, and he turns it up to 11. I won't reveal too much of his character, as discovering who he is remains one of the highlights of the movie, but let me just say that Kingsley's Mandarin had me thinking about his performances weeks after the movie was over. Although some fans might not like his interpretation of The Mandarin (but given that the original source material essentially had him as the "fu-manchu" Asian stereotype that is as offensive to the Chinese as "Uncle Tom" is to black-Americans), it's a terrific turn in terms of storytelling that not only connects deeply with the themes portrayed in the film, but offers a terrific surprise that I guarantee you no one will be able to guess. To paraphrase The Mandarin, "you'll never see him coming."
Give this film a chance, embrace the story, and I PROMISE you, you'll walk away from Iron Man 3 with a burning desire to turn right around and see it again!
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