Robert Downey Jr. is back, smashing walls and fighting evil as billionaire industrialist and part-time superhero Tony Stark. Finally revealed as Iron Man, Stark continues to live the dual life of both a superhero and a rich man in his swanky pad with the beautiful Pepper Potts (Gwenyth Paltrow). Tony Stark is like the Jack Sparrow of the Superhero League, a character whose narcissism knows no boundaries and therein lies his universal appeal. Fans everywhere geared up for the release of Marvel Comics’ Iron Man 3 on May 3, a sequel to last summer’s big blockbuster hit “The Avengers.” The hit Marvel Comic movie made over a billion dollars and featured Tony Stark and his super heroe colleagues feuding with Norse gods and aliens as these villains destroyed most of Manhattan in the progress.
Tony Stark faces two new villains in the third installment of the Iron Man franchise. Guy Pearce plays the suave, brilliant yet very unstable entrepreneur Aldrich Killian. His obsession with Stark arises from a traumatic experience in Killian’s youth, where Tony Stark ignored him. The second villain in the movie is Mandarin, a terrifying Middle-Eastern terrorist played by Ben Kingsley.
Kingsley’s performance as Mandarin might even prove to be the most poignant villain since Heath Ledger’s “The Joker.” However, the character of a terrorist may be unsettling to some after the recent Boston bombing. But, for those who love action there will be explosions just like the first two movies.
Along with the new villains, there’s another twist in the new movie, as Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow)—Stark’s romantic interest— actually suits up. Potts in the iron man suit is a big change in plot because she is known as a goody-two-shoes character. This plot-twist provides Paltrow with an opportunity to further explore a lovable character who in previous movies lacked depth. Also, with Potts in the suit, the director subverts the stereotype of men as superheros and women as damsels in distress.
The acting in the movie is more emotional than the other two, for Downey and Paltrow continue to have great chemistry onscreen. Even Jon Favreau, who directed the previous Iron Man movies, stepped down as director and he stole many laughs from Downey with his depiction of the character Happy Hogan.
Shane Black took the job as director and there was more action in this movie than the first two. Iron Man 3 measures up to the first two movies and is better than the second. While the second movie sputtered to the climax without a powerful villain that measured up to Iron Man in the climactic battle, this movie had arguably a better climactic action scene than the first movie.
Iron Man 3 is the first of many summer blockbusters to come. The movie will remind the Iron Man fans that no other actor can fit the role of Tony Stark than Robert Downey Jr. Iron Man 3 will be worth seeing for those who like the superhero genre, and with the theaters packed with many superhero junkies and the amount of money it has already made, Iron Man 3 is already a box office success. Iron Man 4 does not look like its in the works as of yet, but The Avengers 2 will probably hit theaters in two or three years. Fans will have to wait to see Tony Stark again if he reprises his role in the sequel to the first Avengers.
