Iron Man 3: Movie Review

This movie had some strong anticipation. People tend to love Robert Downey, Jr., and with good reason. This role seemed almost tailor-made for him, and Iron Man as a super hero not only appeals to kids, but the images of the high end technology appeals to many others, as well. Then, when you add the sarcasm and one liners that Downey capably delivers, you've got yourself a winner.

No wonder the first two movies were so successful. No wonder Downey seemed the center piece of last year's Avengers. So yes, people were looking forward to this movie, and with good reason.

Here's the thing, however. I knew some guys who wanted to see it the first night it came out, or at least shortly thereafter. And to a man, they all expressed disappointment.

In going to see it myself (I took my seven-year old son, who absolutely loved the movie), my expectations were a bit low. I tried to push it out of my head, and figured maybe there would be some surprises. Those guys (most of them) tend to be immature, truth be told. So, perhaps there was something that they could not appreciate about the movie, that maybe I would appreciate. In other words, there was an attempt to keep an open mind about it.

That did not last, however. The movie, truth be told, was not all that good. Truth be told, I think that the makers of Iron Man 3 were guilty of what has happened in other successful movie franchises, like the original Batman, or Spiderman 3 with Toby Maguire - they tried to do too much. They cluttered it with all sorts of twists and turns (don't worry, I will try my best not to give anything away, just in case you were hoping to actually see the movie). Some of the ideas were actually quite clever, and you can see why they would add them. But translated to the silver screen? Well, it didn't quite work.

The villain was terrifying enough. Guy Pearce played his role well in this one, capably changing his persona from an erratic and solitary crazy loser type, to a surprisingly handsome and collected, serious and respected businessman, to the prototypical evil genius orchestrating everything behind the scenes. Under the circumstances, he did his job well.

Ben Kingsley is even in this movie, a pleasant surprise to me. He plays a Bin Laden type, who somehow breaks into the airwaves of major television broadcasts, so that he can release his threatening videos. He plays his role very well, under the circumstances, although admittedly, this is one of the roles that, I felt, unnecessarily complicated the movie. Without revealing too much, go see the movie, and judge for yourself.

Gwyneth Paltrow is solid as Pepper, and the out in the open love between Pepper and Starks is well-timed.

Don Cheadle does not seem about to take over the Iron Man role, as he a times appeared in Iron Man 2. In fact, if anything, his role seems diminished.

And Downey delivers in his role as Tony Starks/Iron Man. He is, as always, perfect for the role.

Yet, somehow, this movie just doesn't deliver. It just does not feel right. They were flirting with possibly doing too much last time, coming close to the border, but the movie was still decent.

This time around? They went well beyond the border. There were just way too many things happening all at once, too many twists and turns, so that it became a distraction from the main point of the movie. It slowed down an otherwise fast-paced movie, to the point that it threatens to leave the viewer behind as the movie moves forward.

Also, the highly intense scenes that should really have been explosive are, in fact, not that great. I would go so far as to say anti-climactic. It was not nearly as exciting as I had hoped it would be. There was never a point, as there are with all great movies, when you begin to forget that you are watching a movie, and you instead begin to feel a little as if you are living it. I always was aware that I was sitting in a theater seat, blessed to have my son next to me (completely absorbed in the movie, I might add), and watching a movie, with famous actors and actresses. It just never quite came alive for me.

Like others in the theater, I got the jokes. Laughed when Downey delivered one of his trademark lines, which he did with relative frequency. Again, he was fantastic in this movie, but his acting was not enough to save it. This movie got mired in it's own attempts at sophistication, which never allowed this thing to take off.

Now, some of those guys who had seen the movie and voiced their disappointment had mentioned that they felt the movie was not staying true to the comic book. I will be honest here in revealing that I have not followed Iron Man comic books in some years. But I do remember that Tony Starks begins to have some serious problems there towards the end. He was an alcoholic (maybe his problems even accelerated his becoming one) and, eventually, he lost his other identity as Iron Man.

I enjoyed Robert Downey, Jr., in this role, and part of what a lot of people familiar with Iron Man were looking forward to was the inevitable turn towards substance abuse. Given Downey's own history, I think it would be fair to suggest that more than a few people would be interested to see what he would have lent to his character going through all of that. He would have had a strong ability, mixed with a degree of credibility on the subject, that few other actors could compete with. So, I had assumed there would be signs (as there had appeared to be in Iron Man 2), that he was beginning to drink too much.

Yet, that was not an issue in this movie. There really was nothing there to suggest that he was anything but normal (as normal as someone as outlandish as the fictional Tony Starks could be, in any case). There are moments when Starks is experiencing something. He is having anxiety attacks, it appears. But alcoholism? Not even close. I do not recall him actually having a drink in hand at any point in the movie, following the opening scenes (which themselves are supposed to have taken place well over a decade ago).

Okay, so, my review is generally negative, right? Yet, this is a super-hero movie, and as such, it should appeal to a young audience. I mentioned that my son was there, and he really, really seemed to enjoy it. Not sure if he got all of the twists and turns, but he enjoyed the excitement, the action in the movie. He loved it, and specifically mentioned (for whatever the reason) how much better he enjoyed this movie than The Croods.

So, in fairness, I had to mention that, because it is not a minor point. The comics, and these movies, are generally targeting younger audiences (at least that was the original idea). We sometimes forget that as adults, expecting ourselves to be entertained with Marvel and DC movies. Since he loved it as much as he did, then I have to consider this at least somewhat of a successful movie for that, at least, right?

Go ahead and take your kids (at least, your boys). They will likely really enjoy it, if they are of the age.

Just don't expect to be blown away by it yourself.