Iron Man 3

http://uk.marvel.com/iron-man-3/#/trailer-3

My decent into Marvel appreciation started with Thor and culminated with The Avengers (Avengers Assemble in the UK). I had seen both Iron Man and Iron Man 2 and liked those movies but they weren't enough to make me a fan. Regardless of my less than enthusiastic approach to Iron Man I did go to the Premiere for Iron Man 3 (see here for the gossip on that) and I also went to the midnight screening of Iron Man 3. Then 'why are we only getting a review now?' I hear you cry! The simple answer is that I was so tired whilst watching Iron Man 3 at midnight that I wasn't sure my review of that experience would do the film justice. I liked it alright. I just didn't love it. And I wanted to be sure that that was my overall feeling and not just tired me saying that.

So I waited until today, which just so happened to be the day I went to see Iron Man 3 again. This time on IMAX!!! If you haven't seen a film on IMAX I will just say that it makes everything bigger, louder and in many respects, especially on a movie like this, better.

For those who don't know, following the events of Iron Man, Iron Man 2 and The Avengers, Iron Man 3 picks up after the alien attack at the end of The Avengers. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is a changed man. He can't sleep and when he does he has nightmares of what happened in New York and threats that have yet to present themselves. No sooner have we established that these are imagined threats, a very real terrorist appears on the scene calling himself The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley). And after someone close to Tony is in the wrong place at the wrong time of a Mandarin attack, Tony vows revenge. It's only when his home is literally blown into the water that Tony has to act to save those he can't live without. 

Iron Man 3 surprised me on many levels. The first being the massive twist involving Ben Kingsley's character The Mandarin. I won't give it away in case you've yet to see the film but it is brilliant and I hope that you, like me, will not see it coming. The second surprise was just how vulnerable Tony seemed. Usually he's unstoppable, indestructible Iron Man, but in this installment he seemed much more human. Maybe it's the direction Marvel are going in (you'll hopefully understand what I mean by this when you see the last few reels of the movie) but I liked it. I also liked the continuing and deepening of the Tony/Pepper relationship. And some equalling of the ground between them. Pepper kicks ass in this movie on so many levels and it was nice to see her do something other than walk around in a suit looking like she has a bug up her butt. 

The Iron Man films have always been the less serious and more humerous of the Marvel movies but whilst this one was still very funny in places, it's also a much darker movie. Whilst I was happy for my nephew to see Thor and Avengers, I wouldn't recommend taking a child of his age (7) to see this. At the end of the day superhero movies are generally fantasy films but a lot of the threat in this movie is by a terrorist, and in this day and age that kind of villain is all too real. For that, along with some gory deaths involving people getting literally punched through their stomachs/chests, I would recommend only taking older children to see Iron Man 3.

On a lighter note, I think my favourite scene in the movie is the 'barrel of monkeys' scene. If you've seen it you'll know what I'm talking about. It's very tense but so very satisfying. And very well shot. So all in all, better than my initial 'alright' response, Iron Man 3 is definitely worthy of a second showing and if you're going to do it again you really should make it IMAX. A surprising and satisfying 8 out of 10.

*Don't forget to stay for the post credits sequence* Squee!

Viewing Date - 25th April 2013

UK Release Date - 25th April 2013

Cast Overview:

Robert Downey Jr ~ Tony Stark

Gwyneth Paltrow ~ Pepper Potts

Don Cheadle ~ Colonel James Rhodes

Guy Pearce ~ Aldrich Killian

Rebecca Hall ~ Maya Hansen

Jon Favreau ~ Happy Hogan

Ben Kingsley ~ The Mandarin

Ty Simpkins ~ Harley Keener

William Sadler ~ President Ellis

Miguel Ferrer ~ Vice President Rodriguez

Director ~ Shane Black

Writer(s) ~ Drew Pearce (Screenplay), Shane Black (Screenplay), Stan Lee (Comic Book), Don Heck (Comic Book), Larry Lieber (Comic Book) and Jack Kirby (Comic Book)