For comic book fans across the globe, the
sensation of seeing their heroes assemble onscreen in The Avengers was, to quote Phoebe Buffay, like “being Santa on
Prozac at Disneyland getting laid”. Here was a film that nailed everything
right – plot, pace, performances, truly epic action set-pieces – and, most
importantly, managed to appeal to those outside of the geek community.
But how do you follow up the most lucrative
superhero film of all time? The most instinctive reaction would be to go bigger
and up the ante to vertiginous levels, but thankfully Marvel has not hired
Michael Bay to helm Iron Man 3, the
first in line for the company’s “Phase 2” of superhero adaptations that will lead
to Avengers 2. Instead the gig has
gone to Shane Black, most renowned for his screenwriting credentials on action
classics like Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout. An inspired choice,
granted, but Hollywood execs would be forgiven for doubting he was the right
man for the job, considering the budget and expectations involved.
They needn’t have worried. While Black has
delivered in the set-pieces department (more on that later), it’s his work on
the script with Drew Pierce that truly benefits IM3 as a whole, as they peel away our protagonist’s cocksure
bravado and reveal a very different Tony Stark to the one we are used to. It turns out
Tony is struggling with a bad case of PTSD since his team-up with Earth’s
mightiest heroes. “Big man in a suit of armor”, asked Captain America defiantly
last time round, “take that away, what are you?” It’s a line that haunts Tony,
who has become all too aware of his humanity and now spends most of the time
holed up in his basement working on new Iron Man designs, much to the chagrin
of his girlfriend Pepper. So when The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a shadowy figure
prone to orchestrating attacks on western civilization, picks Stark as their
next target, matters take a turn for the worse.
After the intergalactic melee of The Avengers it is a smart move to go
with terrorism as the big bad in IM3, especially as it is a threat that is made
very real by the frequent reports broadcast on our news channels. Factor in the presence of a serum capable of
enhancing an individual’s biology with super strength plus accelerated healing
(inspired by the popular Warren Ellis’ penned Extremis arc), and you’d half expect Lance Armstrong to show up as
one of the henchmen. Even more intriguingly, Black has Stark spending most of
the film sans armor and cut off from his technology, the moral being that
perhaps he has grown far too reliant on his suits.
But in case you are now thinking the latest
installment in the Iron Man franchise is pulling a Nolan with all this angst
and gloom rest assured, this is also without doubt the funniest film Marvel has
made so far. Virtually every major character gets a memorable line in and comedy is
found in the most unlikely of places, such as War Machine’s password or the
last standing henchman’s reaction to Iron Man in full kick-ass mode. As for the
aforementioned action set-pieces, there is some truly inventive stuff on
display here, whether it is Tony taking on a room of goons with only a glove
and boot from his suit, or a spectacular freefall rescue after some
particularly nasty turbulence aboard Air Force One.
There are some niggles, though. The battle
between the Extremis-powered soldiers and an army of remote-controlled Iron Man
armors is less thrilling climactic showdown, more priceless toy merchandising
opportunity; Don Cheadle is better served this time as Jim Rhodes, Tony’s
straight-talking best pal, but hardly gets to shine when in his Iron Patriot
suit; and finally, while the big-screen portrayal of The Mandarin will no doubt
amuse the mainstream crowd, it is likely to infuriate avid readers of the
comics. One way or another, it will have an impact on you.
But what we should all be wondering right now is
whether this will be the last we’ve seen Robert Downey Jr. in what has become
his signature role. After all, with Iron Man 3, his four movie deal with Marvel
has officially expired… Perhaps it’s best not to dwell on it too much, because
what matters is RDJ’s accomplishment: he has single-handedly managed to bring
to life a character that, prior to 2008, was unheard of outside comic book
communities. Now good ol’shell head is Marvel’s most valuable property, second
only to Spiderman. “They may take away my armor, but I’ll always be Iron Man” Tony
says at some point. And he couldn’t be more right.
4/5
