Tony Stark (Downey)
has been traumatized by his near death experience in The Avengers with a little help from his friends and must contend
with trying to find some normalcy in his life, and that includes his
relationship with girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Stark
recalls a past relationship with a female scientist, whose potentially
revolutionary, regenerative process called Extremis is found to have explosive
side effects. At the same time, a young
genius name Aldrich (Guy Pierce) proposes an idea for high tech think tank,
Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), which will later have severe
implications. Further, a terrorist named
The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) is hijacking the airwaves and threatening
catastrophic events. Are these events related? The story takes Stark out of his comfort zone
and drops him in a nowhere town in Tennessee, and he is thus forced to
improvise, relying upon his skills and wit to battle a formidable opponent while
forging an unlikely bond with a local boy.
A deadly, convoluted plot begins to take shape which has far reaching
consequences to not only Stark’s home but the world.
Downey
owns this character, and he gets nice support from Paltrow in an expanded
role. Pierce makes a worthy antagonist
with tricks up his sleeve so to speak, and Kingsley is a hoot playing up his
mysterious role as The Mandarin. Paul
Bettany again amusingly voices Stark’s computer Jarvis.
Shane
Black’s talent was notable in the screenplay for Lethal Weapon, and it shows in the dialogue especially between
Stark and Pepper and his interactions with the boy. He also was astute enough to
challenge his main character by stripping him of his closest allies (no
sign of S.H.I.E.L.D either) and his
armor and stranding him in the middle of nowhere.
What
set Marvel characters apart from most other super hero comics was that they
experienced real, personal problems, and that, combined with a real threat,
formed an emotional response from the audience.
It’s nice for comic book fans to see the Marvel films incorporate the
established comic book lore including A.I.M. and pushing the ante on supporting
characters like Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle) as The Iron Patriot. At times you feel a bit of James Bond
influence and then a bit of The X-Files
which is not bad thing.
There
are some clever plot twists and unexpected surprises in characters including
one revelation that may upset some comic book purists. The
standout highlight is a spectacular action sequence in midair as Air Force One
is attacked and its passengers are thrown out helplessly. What’s a superhero to do? The result is a terrific, beautifully shot
maneuver that raises hairs. Then there
is that magnificent armor that Start is constantly perfecting to the point that
he can remotely get suited up by sections.
Special visual effects are top of the line as witnessed in the
pyrotechnic climax at a shipyard.
Not content to paint by numbers,
Black and Downey have fashioned an entertaining, superior third film that is
almost as good as Iron Man 1.
There’s a certain finality in the way it ends which
makes one wonder how will they do another Iron Man film. This is Downey’s last contractual Iron Man for now and it would be a shame
to deny fans another go at a fascinating character especially with The Avengers 2 in the not too distant
horizon. And yes, do stay through the lengthy credits for a brief but amusing
scene and cameo.
*** of
**** stars (add ½* for Marvel fans)
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