Iron Man 3 review

Matthew Smith gets suited up and takes on the mighty Mandarin in his review of Iron Man 3…

Synopsis: Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jnr) returns for the third instalment in the Iron Man series. Haunted by the events of The Avengers, Stark hides away in his workshop, obsessively tinkering with his growing collection of bionic suits. But when his best friend is hurt in a terrorist attack carried out by the mysterious Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), Stark is forced out of retirement and made to face his demons.

Review: If it isn’t broke don’t fix it is seemingly the mantra of director Shane Black who helms the latest installment in the Iron Man franchise. The formula obviously works with the movie making an impressive start at the box office, but surely the Iron Man well is now completely dry. The film unsurprisingly has a rehashed feel and lacks the punch and urgency of other contemporary comic book films. It also feels a little dated. Modern superhero movies are increasingly keen to display a conflicted and troubled central character, whose internal complexities are as important as the on screen explosions. Iron Man dabbles with this idea of a troubled anti-hero without ever really committing, leaving more room for spectacle and less for character. Apart from an interesting but not entirely unforeseen twist regarding Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin, Iron Man 3 is like any other Marvel super hero movie you have seen and not as much fun as it probably should be.

The Best: Like in the previous two installments Robert Downey Jnr remains the best thing about the franchise, at times managing to combine a sense of vulnerability with Starks trademark confidence.

The Worst: The film, like a lot of recent action fair, is over long and self indulgent. The director seems unable to pull the plug on the movies final act choosing instead to throw in just one more explosion and then another one. And then another one.

Verdict: Iron Man 3 offers us nothing new. Loud, action packed and full of pithy, knowing one liners. It will undoubtedly be gobbled up by fans of the franchise but others may be left cold by the films recycled feel.

Celluloid Influences: Transformers + Avengers = Iron Man 3