Iron Man 3

After “The Avengers” became a massive hit both critically & financially as the best (if not the best) film of 2012, Marvel Studios began development of the next act known as “Phase Two” set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) mapping several films in release date order starting with “Iron Man 3,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Guardians Of The Galaxy,” “Avengers: Age Of Ultron” & “Ant-Man.”

Iron Man 3 was released in 2013. (same year The Wolf Of Wall Street came out) It received positive reviews from critics, fans & movie goers alike. Plus, it made a bunch of cash at the box office.

With the highly anticipated “Avengers: Endgame” slated to come out on April 26th, I want to spread word of mouth to prepare for Tony Stark’s next epic adventure with the help of his fellow Avengers to fight Thanos which will conclude an eleven year story arc since the first Iron Man kickstarted the MCU. Don’t forget Jon Favreau’s upcoming remake of “The Lion King” this summer.

Today’s review does not contain big fat SPOILERS whatsoever. If you never got a chance to see Iron Man 3, feel free to read my non-spoiler article.

Shiny & Rusty Qualities

Shiny: Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark/Iron Man & he did a fantastic job for his performance.

Cast Members from previous entries including Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany & Jon Favreau all did a great job for their respective performances.

Newcomers to the MCU such as Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Ty Simpkins & Ben Kingsley all did a decent job for their respective performances.

Shane Black wrote & directed the third Iron Man film. He did a awesome job filling in Jon position as director in the previous films.

Fun Fact: Jon couldn’t direct Iron Man 3, because he was working on a film called “Chef” & visited Disney to construct a remake of “The Jungle Book.”

Action Sequences contain high octane moments filled with bullets, rockets, fists, gadgets among many other pretty darn good scenes that kept my blood pumping.

Humor is retained from Iron Man’s last two films. Tony’s witty sarcastic one liners always makes me laugh, he should run a comedy club. One more thing, Tony’s new watch cracked me up.

Chemistry between Tony & Pepper continues to grow.

Tony & Rhodey’s partnership in the third entry is similar to Mel Gibson & Danny Glover’s characters, Martin Riggs & Roger Murtaugh from the “Lethal Weapon” series. Shane Black also created the action comedy series.

According to Shane, the third movie is a Tom Clancy thriller. He must’ve read and watch the “Jack Ryan” series for further inspiration.

Tony’s character arc is fleshed out. Due to the events of The Avengers, he’s constantly building suits of armor as he suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. (PTSD for short) In case an army of baddies show up, he’s crazy prepared like Batman.

Visual Effects are very impressive as they bring Iron Man’s armor to life alongside several action scenes.

Like “Batman Returns,” the third movie takes place during Christmas. Iron Man 3 takes place a few months after the events of The Avengers. Shane is known to write movies set during Christmas including Lethal Weapon, “The Last Boy Scout,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight” & “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.”

Tony did a jab at Meryl Streep. My archenemies. I view her as The Green Goblin to my Spider-Man. I now have deep respect to Tony. Team Iron Man over Team Captain America.

William Sadler (Death from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey) portrays the U.S. President.

The third movie adapts elements from an Iron Man storyline called, “Extermis.”

Tony’s quote, “We create our own demons,” foreshadows his creation known as Ultron in the second Avengers film.

Happy Hogan referred to Tony’s fellow Avengers as “Superfriends.” A reference to the DC animated show. Speaking of Superfriends,” Henry Cavill donned the red & blue suit as Superman in “Man Of Steel,” which also came out the same year as Iron Man 3. Unlike Iron Man 3, Man Of Steel is perhaps the biggest disappointment of 2013.

Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance.

A familiar face makes a cameo appearance. Stay tune after the end credits are done.

A Post-Credits Scene is shown. Don’t forget to see it.

Rusty: After five years of buildup since the first Iron Man movie, an iconic baddie from Tony’s rogue gallery didn’t quite live up to all the hype surrounding him. I have no choice but to Double Down this con.

Bill Maher makes a cameo appearance on TV. He recently bashed Stan Lee (after his death) way too soon claiming he’s turning readers into delinquents. Bill doesn’t understand that Stan created the characters so that readers can relate to their daily lives using our newfound gifts to overcome obstacles.

The Final Verdict: B, FOR BREATHTAKING!

Despite my issue with the buildup surrounding the villain, Iron Man 3 is another great installment in the MCU & one of my favorite Christmas movies. All the positive things I’ve listed such as Robert Downey Jr.’s performance, Shane Black’s involvement, action scenes, visual effects just to name a few, indicate how it managed to keep me entertained. If you didn’t refresh your memory to gear up for Avengers: Endgame, I highly recommend Iron Man 3.

One more thing, screw Bill Maher!