Currently doing boffo box office, Iron Man 3 shows the formula nearing critical mass. In 2008, Tony Stark's debut proved a pleasant surprise: exciting, witty, with a career-reviving turn by Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man 2 (2010) proved a solid follow-up, adding memorable villains and S.H.I.E.L.D. lore to the mix. This third installment offers little beyond over-the-top action, forcing Downey to carry it single-handed.
Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) still recovering from the events of The Avengers, suffering periodic flashbacks and anxiety attacks. Stark's life isn't made any easier when a terrorist called The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) launches several mysterious terrorist attacks, or when smooth businessman Adrian Killian (Guy Pearce) puts the moves on Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow). Turns out Killian's involved in a high-ranking conspiracy with the Mandarin, using ex-servicemen as guinea pigs in a super soldier experiment. Tony's suit becomes temporarily grounded: he must rely on Colonel Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and an annoying kid (Ty Simpkins) to help unravel Mandarin's plot.
The best superhero movies achieve the right balance of sincerity and fun. Movies like Richard Donner's Superman, Tim Burton's Batman flicks and, well, Iron Man are grounded enough to invest the audience without forfeiting their sense of wonder. Lean too far in the former direction and you get bloated pseudo-epics like The Dark Knight Rises and Watchmen, who try desperately to wring profundity out of mumbly bats and giant blue nudists. The other extreme is even worse: see The Fantastic Four, Superman IV or (shudder) Batman and Robin.
This is the best framework to analyze Iron Man 3, which otherwise offers little to discuss. Director Shane Black displays a hackish disregard for story or characterization. Despite one or two neat twists (namely the Mandarin reveal), the movie cribs its ideas from other action flicks, including The Terminator (Killian's fire-scarred resilience) and Black's own Lethal Weapon 2 (the dockyard finale). The action proves exciting but provides few unique thrills, all computer-aided flash that could be copy-and-pasted into this summer's other blockbusters. This reaches its nadir in the finale, when Tony amasses a team of Iron Men (ho, hum) to save the day. It's all sound and fury, only signifying another sure $1,000,000,000 in Marvel's bank.
Robert Downey Jr. keeps things float. To his immense credit, Downey remains fully immersed in Tony Stark, avoiding the money-grabbing dourness of, say, Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels. He's still bantering with Pepper and putting down villains with aplomb, showing character development as he distances himself from his playboy past. Too bad Black and cowriter Drew Pearce remake him into a faux-James Bond, infiltrating the Mandarin's HQ with a zip gun, then saddle him with a tech-savvy moppet escaped from a lesser Spielberg flick. Downey nonetheless keeps Tony's core appeal (snarky wit and flawed personality) intact.
His co-stars aren't so lucky. Gwyneth Paltrow is downgraded to bitchy girlfriend/damsel-in-distress until a plot-convenient twist. Don Cheadle is all but absent for the first 90 minutes, turning up as Tony's action sidekick for the last reels. Guy Pearce makes a thoroughly colorless villain, no match for Jeff Bridges, Mickey Rourke or even Sam Rockwell in charisma or menace. Newcomers like Rebecca Hall's (Frost/Nixon) scientist/ex-paramour and Miguel Ferrer's duplicitous Vice President make zero impression. Only Ben Kingsley shines, in an unexpectedly hilarious turn; to say he isn't what he seems is a massive understatement.
Iron Man 3 is thoroughly disposable. After achieving a solid balance up to now, Marvel starts tilting in the direction of mindless frivolity. Here's hoping they stop before we get Iron Man and Robin.
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