Suit Up

I went into Iron Man 3 with high hopes.  After being let down by the second installment, The Avengers restored my faith that an Iron Man movie and a high quality film did not have to be mutually exclusive.  And, for the most part, I was not disappointed.

Iron Man 3 picks up in the aftermath of the events of New York (a.k.a. the ending of The Avengers).  Tony Stark finds himself plagued with insecurities and channels those feelings into trying to perfect his suits. I found the movie most compelling when it looked at the following question: what happens to these superheroes after they manage to save the world?  Sometimes, as the movie shows, there are negative physical and emotional repercussions.  But Tony is forced out of hiding when his nightmares come true.  The Mandarin hits a little too close to home.

Robert Downey Jr. is in fine form as Mr. Stark.  If you lose focus for a second, you will miss one of his trademark snarky lines.  Gwyneth Paltrow also provides moments of “Woohoo!  Girl power!  Solidarity!” as Pepper Potts.  While I won’t give away the reason why, let’s just say she gets to suit up this time.  It was nice to see her character step out of the background.

There was one aspect of the film that did not sit well with me.  I am probably in the minority on this one.   I cannot talk about it in detail without giving away a HUGE spoiler.  So, only the people who have seen the film will understand what I am talking about:  THE TWIST.  You know, the BIG TWIST.  For me, it was a let down, and I did not feel completely satisfied when the movie was over because of it….and that’s all I can really say on that matter.  But trust me, you’ll know what I am talking about when you see the film.

Overall, however,  Iron Man 3 was exactly what it needed to be.  It quenches the thirst for action while making you laugh (for the right reasons) at the same time.  As the beginning of the second phase of The Avengers cycle, the movie makes me excited for the future Marvel films.  However, I hope that the issues with the contracts are resolved.  You cannot have The Avengers 2 without Iron Man…and you cannot have Iron Man without Robert Downey Jr. 

I’ll end this review on an anecdote.  While I was watching Iron Man 3, something great happened.  A lull came over the audience after one of the intense action scenes.  Amidst the quiet a young boy declared, “That was awesome!”   Everyone in the audience laughed, and I had a huge smile on my face.  That is the reason people love to go to the movies.  They want it to be amazing.  They want it to be an escape.  They want it to be awesome.

To that little boy and to this Southern Belle, Iron Man 3 certainly is.