The Boldest Marvel Film

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2013)

First of all, I said BOLDEST and not necessarily BEST. Actually I believe IM3 is second only to The Avengers, which has an overall more ambitious and greater scope despite having a more conventional narrative. But the main reason why I say it's bold is the great risks it took to deviate from comics and even the whole S.H.I.E.L.D/heroes coalition theme (that up to The Avengers was present in every Marvel Cinematic Universe film) to focus solely on the character Tony Stark. And by doing it, it finally accomplishes the character development of the MCU's (arguable) protagonist.
Never before was Stark as much aware of the consequences of his giant ego (he risks Pepper's safety with a miscalculated threat that leads to the subsequent destruction of Malibu Home, not to count the heinous outcome of ignoring Aldrich Killian's Extremis project back in 1999) as well as of his own vulnerabilities without his suit (post-traumatic stress after the crossing of the Wormhole and contacting aliens and gods leading him to escalate the production of armors). Indeed, as the opening citation states: "We create our own demons".That, however, doesn't stop him from recovering from the blow and looking after himself throughout the film with limited access to technology (comparatively to the previous installments), relying mostly on his geniality, resourcefulness and craftsmanship.
And even if the 'army of armors' (which took the whole movie to successfully load) has a decisive role in the final battle, by that time Stark's learning is already enough for him to realize that his heroism is based on the MECHANIC he is rather than the MACHINES he uses and, also, that he is ready to take one step further in his commitment to Pepper. Thus his character arc of humanization is complete and he promptly gets rid of the armors and the 'arc reactor' he depended on. As he states 'HE is Iron Man', regardless of his gadgets...
As a poignant bonus, filmmaker Shane Black and screenwriter Drew Pearce (with the fundamental consent of R.D. Jr.) added some clever comments on USA politics (a hallmark of the Iron Man film series but this time much more incisive, focusing preferentially on the oil rather than the weapons industry) and on the media, more specifically, on cinema itself (with the 'Mandarin twist' , to the comic book fans dismay - and the evident conclusion regarding the power of images to manipulate and tell lies, aided by the superb casting and distinct acting from sir Ben Kingsley), leading to a surprisingly omnipresent mocking tone - in such a way that's reminiscent of Black's own previous use of metalanguage to deconstruct Hollywood in "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang".
All matters considered, even if the whole Extremis program deserved a better approach to its implications and scientific issues, one can easily overcome it by noticing the film's intended lack of seriousness. Considering yet the 'buddy cop' overtones (dating back to Black's screen writing breakthrough in Lethal Weapon) in Stark's interactions with a Tennessee kid and Rhodes, not to count the presence of gags (R.D. Jr. undying comic timing) even in the climax, the outcome is a motion picture that is as unpretentious and entertaining as possible, which nevertheless is successful in crafting a meaningful story.
Moreover, the visual aspect of IM3 is indubitably the best in the whole MCU franchise, with the cinematography making the action sequences the most impressive, while the film editing allows them to always keep geographically understandable (aided by Black's long time experience with the action genre), all the while the special effects finally ended the graphic discrepancy (that even in The Avengers couldn't be dealt with) between Tony's live-action face and his CGI suit. More than just a technical achievement, such a feat beautifully matches the film's overall humanization theme.
Last but not least, the message after the post credits scene (which has Dr. Bruce 'The Hulk' Banner in the role of Stark private and unwilling shrink after the establishing of their friendship bonds throughout The Avengers) leaves no stone unturned regarding the humanization narrative:
"Tony Stark will return", rather than the the title character...