Tony
Stark: You're not a man. You're nothing more than a
maniac. I'm not afraid of you. No politics here: just good old fashioned
revenge.
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Director: Shane Black (2013) |
Regardless of the quality of the content, Marvels Phase One
was a resounding commercial success. Initialised by Ironman (2008) and concluded
by the spectacular yet hollow The Avengers, the 6 film series made 3.8 billion
dollars across the world, Phase 2 was going to be a thing regardless of what anyone
thought. In a move reminiscent of the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this
next chapter also begins with another Ironman film with Robert Downey Junior
reprising his role as the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist. While there’s
little doubt that box office receipts will reach hundreds of millions, it’s a crying
shame that Ironman 3 isn’t the experience we were all hoping for.
After the events of The Avengers, Tony Stark is in a dark
place. Racked with insomnia and suffering severe anxiety attacks, he spends
most of his time tinkering with his creations. His obsession pushes the boundaries
of girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) who is intent on leaving him. When
Tony becomes embroiled with terrorist The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), he is left
isolated and alone, struggling to protect those he loves and cares for. With the
help of James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) he sets out to stop The Mandarin while
getting caught up in a biological project run by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce)
known as ‘Extremis’.
The films biggest issue resides with its story, a dismal
blend of underdeveloped arcs and telegraphed revelations. The vast majority of
the films plot is given away in the film’s opening flashback, forcing us to
wait for Stark to play catch-up for another 30 minutes before events can progress
any further. Killian’s motives are weak, Guy Pearce’s best efforts simply can
conceal how much a generic villain he truly is. What’s mishandled even more is
both The Mandarin and the Extremis plot arc. Kingsley’s villain is an
intimidating, fearful character to begin with, his untraceable terrorist
attacks and TV hijackings paint him as a more cerebral man than an outright
violent one. But soon he is nothing more than Osama Bin Laden minus a turban,
committing televised crimes like a cheap Joker impersonator. Soon focus shifts
away from Kingsley’s hard work back to Killian, making the film suffer
dramatically with a terribly implemented plot twist.
Where the film also falters is in the action scenes, which
strive to be functional instead of exciting. The climax to The Avengers would
be difficult to top, so Black smartly sidesteps the issue, giving us a large
scale conflict that is small enough to remain personal. While it’s initially a
joy to see dozens of Ironman suits jetting through the sky, it soon becomes
apparent that all we’re really witnessing is bright lights and searing
explosions, the decision to shoot the finale in darkness (again) results in
some muddled visuals by the folks over at Weta Digital. Instead of emphasising
the unique roles of these additional suits, they’re instead used as cannon
fodder for extremis aggressors, appearing in frame only to be obliterated just
moments later.
Elsewhere the quality of the action is even more temperamental,
sometimes beautiful but mostly messy thanks to some tight camerawork and choppy
editing. The destruction of Starks house is a prime example of this, the
personal devastation of the attack is lost in a sea of loud noises and smeary
rubble. The second act set piece involving Starks rescue of passengers from a
destroyed plane is more engrossing, primarily thanks to the fact that it was
shot by an aerial stunt team.
Extremis is even worse, a facet of the plot that is wholly
uninteresting and incredibly simplified, acting as nothing more than a way to
avoid having Ironman fight more robotic foes after the suit heavy battles of
the first 2 films. The result is a massive waste of Rebecca Hall’s talent, her
part in the film is reduced to sexy scientist who spells out the plot for those
incapable of putting 2 and together. In fact, it seems there was no point in
casting Kingsley, Pearce or Hall outside of a handful of scenes, squandering
potential seems to be what Ironman 3 does best.
Of course, these disappointments are alleviated slightly by
Downey Junior’s Stark, a role that he wears like a second set of skin. While
his comedic timing remains impeccable, the character’s humorous side is toned
down significantly, a result of the PTSD that he suffered due to the climax of
The Avengers. This additional depth to the character is a welcome one, seeing
his massive ego reduced to nothing is a welcoming and strangely affecting, and
portraying the fallibility of seemingly indestructible superheroes is the step
in the right direction for the Marvel Cinematic universe as a whole. Yet beyond
Starks advances, Ironman 3 is a severely unsatisfying experience, marred by a
bad story and soulless action. The conclusion is limp, a defect that extends to
the now famous after credits sequence which isn’t worth waiting for. Spending too
much time reflecting on Phase One instead of paving new ground, this is
undoubtedly the first big disappointment of the year. We can only pray that isn’t
indicative of things to come.