Iron Man 3

***Iron Man 3*** is a 2013 American 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 (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010), 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. It premiered at the Grand Rex in Paris on April 14, 2013, and released in the United States on May 3, as the first film in Phase Two of the MCU.

## Plot

Plagued with worry and insomnia since saving New York from destruction, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), 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 (Gwyneth Paltrow). 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 Rocks

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.
	* The side-effects of Tony's PTSD would continue to be a major plot element for his character through the rest of the MCU culminating in *Avengers: Infinity War* when Tony fights Thanos face-to-face.
	* Speaking of *Avengers: Infinity War*, the side-effects of Thor's PTSD following his failure of defeating Thanos are all shown in unprecedented detail in *Avengers: Endgame*, where his emotional damage becomes much more extreme than that of Tony's, with Thor suffering from severe depression, and he drinks heavily and plays *Fortnite* to relieve himself from the trauma, and is officially retired for the next 5 years until Hulk convinces him to return and save the day, similar to *Logan*. In fact, both *Avengers: Endgame* and *Logan* share a lot of themes and characteristics in common.
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. With Tony deciding to take a break from Iron Man the new just in time for 2015's *Avengers: Age of Ultron*.
8. Tony embracing and mentioning Harley's sister's Dora watch is an amazing gag that improves Tony's character.
9. Gwenyth Paltrow's 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 Ben 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 *Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings* as the tertiary antagonist.
2. Some incredibly dumb moments, such as Tony giving his address to literal terrorists.
3. The entire movie except the PTSD and Tony Stark's heart core is ignored in *Avengers: Age of Ultron*, making most of the movie not matter in the grand scheme of things.

## Reception

*Iron Man 3* received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its action sequences and Downey's performance. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 79% approval rating with an average score of 7/10, based on 325 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "With the help of its charismatic lead, some impressive action sequences, and even a few surprises, Iron Man 3 is a witty, entertaining adventure and a strong addition to the Marvel canon." Metacritic gave a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as both its predecessors.

Template:Marvel Cinematic Universe

## External Links

* Template:IMDb
* Template:Rotten Tomatoes

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