Reviewed: Iron Man 3

And so, as the embargo - which some others have blatantly ignored and bizarrely didn't apply to twitter - ended at midnight on the 23rd/24th and the film opens across the UK in less than twenty-four hours, we can tell you what WE think of this year's first superhero outing... there are some mild spoilers ahead...

Sequels are seldom equals – or so the old saying goes – so while one could argue that Iron Man 3 was a release that was primed to benefit from high exposure and great anticipation, it would be only right to also note that this second solo sequel in the iron-clad franchise is the first Marvel Studios' outing since last year’s Avengers… that little Joss Whedon project that BOOM’d, SMASH’d and KAPOW’d its way through any number of cinematic records and achieved a double-whammy of uniting most critics behind it. Like the Hulk, the shadow that juggernaut casts is somewhat intimidating.

So perhaps it’s more than apt that the Tony Stark we meet in Iron Man 3 is a man somewhat shaken by the fact that he’s found himself saving the world from aliens, facing down demi-gods and taking orders from a one-eyed man with an invincible flying aircraft-carrier.  Yes, Stark is still the flippant, high-life embracing innovator and inventor, but he’s also kept awake at night by visions of near-death, wormholes and the fact he’s no longer quite the centre of his own shiny universe, not quite the final word in keeping the world and his loved ones safe.

Actually, the first Stark we see in Iron Man 3 is the flashback pre-hero version, the ultimate party-goer seeing in a new century in Beijing and casually working his way into Rebecca Hall’s bed and out of grungy Guy Pearce’s business ventures.  Both decisions will have significant consequences back in the present when Hall’s fellow innovator Maya Hansen comes knocking with a more business-like concerns about her bio-upgrading 'Extremis' project  and an all washed-and-brushed-up Aldrich Killian (Pearce) has another type of proposition for the billionaire and his second-in-command Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow)

At the same time the US is being terrorised by an uber-terrorist with a flair for the theatrical. The Mandarin hacks televisions and computers across the country and announces acts of mass destruction – which all happen as promised/threatened. Buildings go ‘splodey, politicians get killed and even the US President is rendered impotent on live tv. Here is a villain who doesn’t just want to be in charge, but appears more than willing to be SEEN to be in charge. Imagine a power-mad Osama Bin Laden with the ego and resources of Donald Trump. Or vice versa.

When Stark’s right-hand man, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau, previously the man at the helm of the last two Iron Man outings) is severely injured in one such attack, a worn-out Tony himself declares war on the Mandarin. It’s a challenge that is accepted and before the first reel is over, Tony’s Malibu pad faces a full-frontal assault and Tony is forced to draw on resources beyond his suit. The billionaire goes back to basics to not just save the love of his life or the country, but perhaps his own sanity.

If Downey was spot-on perfect casting as Stark, then incoming director Shane Black could arguably be the best fit as director.  When Favreau left the director’s chair, fans were somewhat worried, but Black (who worked with Downey on the delightfully subversive Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)  has just the right sense of manic energy and flippant irony that will keep audiences engaged between the de rigeur action sequences.

Black deftly balances the personal moments (some dark and foreboding, some laugh-out-loud hilarious) with those all-out action set-pieces. Such intense action sees everything but the kitchen-sink thrown into the frame, but while the screen is often bulging at the seams, Black knows to make sure that we know the real stakes that everyone is playing for amid the carnage.  He simultaneously give us heart, soul and the middle-finger. With Iron Man 3, Black and Downey are deconstructing and reconstructing a character… taking him back to basics and showing that he is more than a man in a fancy play-suit… but at the same time, we never get into Bruce Wayne levels of angst. Stark may be a knight in heavily tarnished armour, but he’s sardonic and angry, not broken and ‘Dark’.

The supporting cast also get to shine. For various reasons, Sir Ben Kingsley is a stand-out, clearly enjoying a role where he can almost eat the scenery with his malevolence and ultimately be seen to indulge his theatrical history (there’s even a nice aside about King Lear), but Paltrow also gets much more to do this time around and Don Cheadle’s Rhodey/Iron Patriot makes a great compatriot for Stark to literally bounce off in combat. We're also given a nice boo-hiss henchman in James Badge Dale's Eric Savin and, amazingly, a child-actor in Ty Simpkins (War of the Worlds), who is entirely tolerable and a great foil for a grounded Stark. 

Yes, one could quibble that such a big threat would surely bring fellow Avengers running (they must have been busy reviving Agent Coulson), but the just-over two-hour running-time is well-edited and neither out-stays its welcome nor cheats the audience out of satisfaction or a great conclusion. It delivers what it promises.

A rust-free romp, stiring, sexy, stylish and just silly enough - with plenty of bang for your buck, this sets a superior benchmark for the action heroes of summer still to come - one that still includes the Man of Steel, Thor and The Wolverine.

It’s a guilty pleasure with extra gilt and gleam... and one only likely to be further advanced when we see the extra Beijing scenes filmed for the Chinese version some time later this year.

9/10

Iron Man 3 is rated 12A and is released by Marvel Studios/Disney on 25th April in the UK.

Watch out for our press conference coverage tomorrow...