MCU Phase II begins well

Rating: 6/10 (17 October 2016)

Marvel kicks off what it calls "Phase II" of its cinematic universe by going back to the character with which it launched the whole thing, which is a pretty good idea given Iron Man's primacy in the MCU and Robert Downey, Jr.'s primacy as the best actor it has playing one of its superheroes. It is risky only in the sense that "Iron Man 2" was a rare misstep for Marvel, one from which it recovers here. Shane Black is a great choice for director and co- writer, and not just because Marvel needed a movie set at Christmas time. This isn't exactly "Die Hard in the MCU," but Black's sensibility is a welcome respite from the planet-is-in-peril stakes of "The Avengers," which capped off "Phase I." His story and direction create enough excitement to make this good fun, give Iron Man a decent opponent, give Tony Stark some demons to wrestle with, and make very good use of the familiar supporting players in Iron Man/Stark's world.
Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian is almost engaging enough to make me not miss Sam Rockwell, the best feature of "Iron Man 2." As Marvel villains go, Killian is nicely developed and reasonably compelling. He's no Loki, but he's big improvement on Mickey Rourke, and like Rockwell's, his evil plan is basically profit-driven. He doesn't want to destroy the planet, he just wants to get rich off the people who do. But his megalomania is nicely juxtaposed with Stark's, who is dealing with PTSD from the events of "The Avengers." Stark finally reaches out for help in a way that Killian can't, which makes a resonant dramatic point and also gives both Gwyneth Paltrow and Jon Favreau a lot more to do than they've previously been afforded. Both rise to the occasion, as does Don Cheadle as War Machine. And the film does all this without Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury popping up -- he must still be in mourning for Clark Gregg.
I was not as convinced by the sub-plot involving a child and his relationship with Stark. This is an over-long film for what it tries to accomplish, with one or two too many plot twists and turns for its own good. There is no cross set-up here that doesn't turn out to be a double-cross, which never gets confusing but does get wearying. The plot involving the boy Stark befriends seems like the most superfluous in a film that could stand some trimming to be as tight as it should be. Nevertheless, this is a good return to form for Iron Man and a promising way to continue the franchise.