Iron Man 3 — PG-13

Running Time: 130 min.

Director: Shane Black

Main Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pierce

Rating: 9

Staying away from a hit movie for more than a week really drives the brain into the ditch of disparity. Luckily, my sister and her roommate treated me to Iron Man 3 this last weekend. I’m glad to report that I was completely satisfied.

It turns out that different is great. The second Iron Man installment was much too similar to the first; Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is put in grave danger, his selfishness and conceit knowing no bounds, and he ultimately saves the day through perseverance and wit. While there’s nothing wrong with Stark showing his true, vain colors, there is still a greatly important side of him that had yet to be shown. This side was completely exposed in the third installment.

Without spoiling anything, I would like to thoroughly note the great psychological advantage Iron Man 3 plays over its audience. There is already sentiment for Stark, he has already saved the world at least a few times during his time on the screen in his own movies as well as in The Avengers, and his wit and seemingly repelling arrogance has captivated nearly every single person in the universe. Watching Stark, then, push himself emotionally past his breaking point, stretch his own mental stability to the point of creating medical problems, and nearly completely lose himself in becoming consumed by Iron Man is heartbreaking and straining for the audience to watch. This time, the reliance on himself can’t be trusted. However, in order to turn Stark’s helplessness into humbleness, he must then turn around and trust others. His life is saved by five different people throughout the entire course of the movie; five people. I suppose it’s to make up for all the other times that he saved them, but the best part is that one of them is Pepper. Pepper is pushed into a strong position, mentally, emotionally and physically, in order to support Stark when he is unable to do so himself.

Continuing on before I spoil the spoilers, I’d be very happy to start commending Robert Downey Jr. for another marvelous performance. He brought a whole new layer onto his character while preserving the old Tony Stark that we all know and sometimes love. Downey is somehow able to bring that character to its true potential, and that deserves nothing less than respect. Another great acting surprise that came from this film was young Ty Simpkins, who played Harley Keener. Harley was perhaps the greatest personality to ever mesh with that of Tony Stark. His role in the movie was greater than any other, perhaps creating a certain solace for Stark’s troubled mind. That aside, Downey and Simpkins themselves worked beautifully together.

As a last note of why the rating for this movie is not exactly perfect, I’d like to add that the music for the ending credits was strangely out of character for Iron Man. Especially after his incredible recovery of his original behavior in the last minute of the movie. The music sounded more Captain-America-fanfare than Iron-Man’s-got-a-bass-guitar-and-drums. I simply point this out because I can find no more real obvious oddities of the film. It was simply stunning.

SPOILERS: Do not read past this point unless you want the spoiling to commence

As a quick addition to my previous rating, I’d like to add the real reason that I found this movie so innovative in the franchise. As a character, Iron Man excelled past his limits because of a break in his spirit. He is taken away from his home, as it is blown to pieces, flies away to Tennessee, which is much colder than California, and is forced to realize the effects of the happenings in New York during The Avengers on him: post traumatic stress disorder. As a result, he suffers extreme anxiety, insomnia, and severe panic attacks whenever he feels cornered, crowded, or trapped in any way, including situationally. This is the true greatness of this film. The actual villain, the true demon that Stark says he has created at the beginning of the movie, is not the one played by Ben Kingsley or even Guy Pierce. It is the depth of Tony Stark’s emotional depravity that is driving him to such lows. His complete dependence on Iron Man, on all of these suits that he’s created for the purpose of company and self comfort, has been the real demon that he must destroy. It’s a difficult ending for some fans, watching Tony throw away all the material possessions that are important to him and even the removal of the arc reactor from his chest. It is, however, an extremely important step for Iron Man. If he’s ever to help save the world during Avengers 2, he’s got to be able to have complete control over his own stability and strength instead of letting his technology do it for him. This is the real reason for such a high review for this movie: it was the most necessary and genuine Iron Man addition yet.