Iron Man 3

***Iron Man 3*** is a 2013 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to *Iron Man* and *Iron Man 2*, and the seventh film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Shane Black from a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce, and stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man alongside Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stéphanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley.

## Plot

Plagued with worry and insomnia since saving New York from destruction, Tony Stark, now, is more dependent on the suits that give him his Iron Man persona -- so much so that every aspect of his life is affected, including his relationship with Pepper. After a malevolent enemy known as the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) reduces his personal world to rubble, Tony must rely solely on instinct and ingenuity to avenge his losses and protect the people he loves.

## Why It's Great

1. The film's main theme is the question *"Who is Iron Man? Tony Stark, or the battle suits?"*
2. The film is a great and realistic follow up to 2012's *The Avengers* by showing Tony's emotional damage as the aftermath, which is huge character development for him.
	* It also feel like a perfect ending to the story of Tony.
	* It's a huge improvement over Iron Man 2.
3. While writing the film, director Shane Black focused on avoiding scenes of pure exposition and making every moment propel other narrative points forwards.
4. The first two acts remain character-centric, albeit in Shane Black's words "more hectic, frenetic, and large scale".
5. Despite misusing a perfectly good Iron Man villain, Ben Kingsley's portrayal of the Mandarin was a great watch and tried his best with an 'actor' role.
6. The post-credit scene, where it's Tony telling the entire film's plot as a story to Bruce Banner, is hilarious and endearing.
7. This film's amazing ending narration and message, way better than the trash ones of Avengers: Endgame.
8. Tony embracing and mentioning Harley's sister's Dora watch is an amazing gag that improves Tony's character.
9. Pepper Potts finally gets some action, from wearing a suit to save Tony's life to finishing off Aldrich Killian near the end.
10. The Extremis infected subjects are decent villains, creating a feeling of tension and suspense.
11. The suit-up scene, in the beginning, is both hilarious and epic.
12. The action is great and an improvement from the first two films.
13. Most Marvel Cinematic Universe films suffer from unmemorable soundtracks, however, this movie is an exception as it has an amazing score.

## Bad Qualities

1. The Mandarin twist was incredibly controversial and despite the good acting from Kingsley this twist was disappointing and is an example of the MCU sacrificing actual emotional richness for one-off jokes. To rectify this, this was later retconned in the Marvel One-Shot *All Hail the King*, where it's revealed that the Mandarin actually exists and sends his agents to kidnap Trevor Slattery. The Mandarin has also been announced to be appearing in the upcoming *Shang-Ci and the Legend of the Ten Rings* as the main antagonist.
2. Maya is an annoying character.
3. The entire movie is ignored in *Avengers: Age of Ultron*, making most of the movie not matter in the grand scheme of things.

## Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 79% approval rating with an average score of 7/10, based on 325 reviews.

## Box Office

*Iron Man 3* grossed $409 million in North America and $805.8 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $1.215 billion, outgrossing both of its predecessors combined.

## External links

* ***Iron Man 3*** on IMDB
* ***Iron Man 3*** on Rotten Tomatoes