Iron Man 3
Doomsday: T-Minus 32 Weeks
Welcome to week 7 of the 39 week countdown to Avengers: Doomsday. I’m watching the MCU films in order of release, one per week, in the buildup to Doomsday.
After the unprecedented success of The Avengers, the pressure was on Marvel. How could they keep the momentum going now that the story had seemingly culminated with the big team-up? Granted, there had been a brief post-credit scene introducing Thanos, but nearly none of the audience had any idea who he was, let alone why he smiled when told that to fight humans is to court death. Even I, a life-long reader of Marvel Comics, was unaware that Thanos existed, because, like most comic readers, I didn’t read The Avengers. What was Marvel to do? Go back to where it all began, with Iron Man, and give him a third film, that’s what. After all, nowadays it’s always a trilogy, right?
When it was announced that Shane Black would be directing Iron Man 3, my reaction was one of joy. At that point, though he’d written a number of great scripts, Black had only directed one movie, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. That, however, was enough to have me fully onboard. I’d watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang when it came out, more or less by accident as it was the next film starting when I showed up at the theater one night, and to this day it’s on a short list of my favorite films ever. I remember thinking after seeing it that Robert Downey Jr. had massive star potential, and worried that his career had been wasted, so seeing him rise to fame as Iron Man was comforting. So, when I heard Shane Black would be directing him again I had high hopes. (I should add: that’s nothing against Jon Favreau, who had given us two excellent Iron Man movies. I’d have been totally happy had he been tasked with the third.)
The resultant film didn’t impress me, at least not immediately. I left the theater a bit disappointed. It wasn’t that the film was bad. I’d quite liked it, but it felt off. I thought at the time it was the worst of the Marvel films to date. More on that later, but right now, let’s talk about this movie.
The overall story is great. At its core, it’s about Tony Stark coming to terms with what he experienced during the battle against Loki and his extraterrestrial army. That’s a topic that is often overlooked in comic books and superhero films. The first two Iron Man films were grounded in reality. While they involved technology that is far beyond what is today possible, nothing that happened was outside the realm of possibility. Tony Stark invented an electrified suit of armor, and fought a couple other guys in their own versions of his suit. That’s not impossible stuff. Suddenly, he found himself teamed up with a Norse god, a guy with superhuman powers who had survived 70 years frozen in ice, and whatever the Hulk is, battling another Norse god, and an army of aliens. He’d flown through a wormhole into another galaxy, and almost died. He ate his first shawarma. How exactly does any normal human process that? It was incredibly refreshing to see a film tackle this.
Some people don’t like an Iron Man movie that focused so much on Stark outside his armor. I love it. Stark does more than enough Iron Man-esque stuff along the way to keep me satisfied, and honestly, it felt like it had to be that way. The movie is about Stark’s rebirth, which meant losing all that past baggage. He had to solve a crisis without the armor for once.
So where does the film falter? In two places. First, in its depiction of the Mandarin. He’s one of comic book Iron Man’s major nemeses, so finding out he was slated as the villain caused fans to expect an epic battle, well beyond what we’d seen in Iron Man’s battles against Iron Monger or Whiplash. It made sense that the held him back until part three. As I mentioned, pre-Avengers, the films were grounded in reality, so a character like the Mandarin, armed with 10 “magic” rings (actually, alien technology) would have been out of place, but now that some magical and extraterrestrial aspects of the Marvel universe had been introduced, Iron Man 3 felt like the perfect place to bring in a character like the Mandarin. As such, seeing how drastically he was changed was jarring. Watching again, knowing what I now know, the change is totally fine, but in 2013 it was a massive disappointment, and one of the primary reasons why so many people bagged on this film, myself included.
The other main problem I have with the film is the final battle. It’s too comic-booky. Stark is leaping from one suit of armor to the next. The suits can instantly morph around him, or Pepper, or Killian. They instantly obey his every thought. It no longer feels like an advanced version of technology so much as it feels like CGI magic. Nothing feels dangerous because the magic armor fixes everything. Tony’s about to have his leg chopped off? No worries! The armor gracefully opens up and his leg slides out, almost as if the armor always knows what to do. That entire final battle is uninteresting to me for that reason.
How Good Is It?
Had you asked me on opening night I’d have said it’s okay, though it’s the worst of the seven films so far, but this is a film that gets better upon each rewatch. I’ve now seen it three times, and appreciate it far more. Granted, we don’t get the Mandarin from the comic books, but who cares? What we do get is a really intriguing and funny villain, who is in fact a cover for a truly ruthless one. Killian and AIM are formidable foes, and Slattery’s Mandarin is hilarious and utterly captivating.
The airplane rescue is breathtaking. The subplot with the young boy in Tennessee is well handled. The political intrigue is a nice touch. Most of all, Aldrich Killian is a terrific villain with a solid backstory. While not as entertaining as Mickey Rourke’s Whiplash, he’s a much more dangerous foe. Keeping Stark out of the armor for most of the film, while still giving him bursts of action, was a brilliant move on Black’s part. In all, I have to say he did a bang up job with the film, and I think a strong case can be made that this is as good as either of the two Iron Man films that preceded it.
My Watch History
As usual, I was in a theater for the Thursday night preview showing, which was on May 2, 2013. I watched again at home, on June 2, 2024, and then a third time this past Wednesday night.
How Did I Watch?
I own this on a 4k UHD Blu-ray. You can click the image below to buy a copy. (I get nothing if you do, so this isn’t a ploy to make money.)
Best Scene in the Movie
This is the first film from which no scene or moment leaps out at me. This may be another of the minor gripes I have with the film. It’s fine overall, but nothing really stands out. To make sure I’d have something for you, I asked my 9-year-old son Giacomo, who has been watching all of these movies with me, what his favorite moment was. His immediate answer was, “When all the Iron Man suits showed up.” So, here you go!
Will This Tie Into Doomsday?
As with the previous Iron Man movies, while nothing here seems like it will overtly link to Avengers: Doomsday, the fact that Robert Downey Jr. is playing Dr. Doom, and the suggestion that Doom might be a Stark variant, means that a solid understanding of Tony Stark’s background, motivations, proclivities, and capabilities may help one better understand who Dr. Doom is.
How May Stars Does It Get?
While contemplating this project my biggest question was whether or not I should rate the films. I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m terrible at assigning films a score. I either like ‘em or I don’t. However, I know readers like ratings, so I’ve come up with something close. I’m going to rank the films as I go along. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, and with each week it grows more difficult.
The Updated Ranking
The Avengers
Iron Man 2
Iron Man
Iron Man 3
Thor
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Incredible Hulk
What’s Next
Next week I’ll talk about the 8th installment in the MCU, Thor: The Dark World.