Marvel Studios' Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey at every turn will test his mettle. With his back against the wall Stark is left to survive by his own devices relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: Does the man... make the suit or does the suit make the man? Starring Robert Downey Jr. Gwyneth Paltrow Don Cheadle Guy Pearce Rebecca Hall Stephanie Szostak James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce and Shane Black. Special Features: Deleted/Extended Scenes Audio Commentary Behind the Scenes Featurettes Gag Reel [show more]
How many third movies in a franchise turn out to be any good?
Yes, you have the odd trilogy that delivers a satisfying climax - like Lord of the Rings or the Bourne saga - but for every Return of the King or Bourne Ultimatum there are handfuls of lesser "threequels" that turn out to be pale shadows of the original. I guess it's not surprising that by the time most franchises roll around to their third instalment, they're lacking the same freshness and originality that the earlier movies offered.
But Iron Man 3 confronts that tradition of mediocrity, lifts up an armoured gauntlet and blows it away with a glowing repulsor-blast of pure energy: because it not only manages to vastly improve on the second Iron Man movie, it arguably surpasses even the brilliant first film in terms of sheer fun.
A big part of this resurgence is undoubtedly due to the change of director. Taking over from Jon Favreau who helmed the first two movies, Shane Black (best known for action-comedy fare like Lethal Weapon and The Long Kiss Goodnight) takes the franchise and makes it his own, whilst also keeping it line with everything that's come before - including Tony Stark's appearance in the recent Avengers crossover movie.
In fact, it's Stark's experiences with his fellow Avengers that form the backbone to his character arc in this film, as he struggles to cope with the panic attacks and nightmares that have plagued him ever since the New York battle that concluded that movie. Beset with worries about his near-death experience - when he dragged a nuclear weapon through a trans-dimensional wormhole (well, that'd give anyone the willies, right?) - the Stark of Iron Man 3 is a markedly less sure-footed and assured character than the one we saw in the first two movies.
Whilst this could be considered a dangerous move for a character who's normally so confident and collected, it turns out to be an inspired choice, undermining the cocky swagger of the Stark of Iron Man 1 and 2 by refining his personality into something far more complex and layered. Tony is still the smartest guy in the room, and he's still quick with the smart-alec remarks and one-liners, but Black's story hints at greater depths to Stark than we've seen before. And, surprisingly for this kind of movie, the storyline actually allows the character to grow and change in a very significant way by the end of it, giving Robert Downey Jr. some real substance to accompany the slick, charismatic playboy act that he's by now perfected as an artform.
The character development we see in this movie is partly due to Stark coming to terms with another nightmare from his past: his mistreatment of a would-be business partner, many years ago, as a side-effect of the casual recklessness that he regularly displayed before he grew up and became Iron Man. The wronged party in this case was Aldrich Killian, a biotechnology developer (played by Guy Pearce), who has gone on to invent "Extremis": a weaponised virus that can regrow limbs, but which also turns people into human bombs. And it's Extremis that becomes the major threat (both to Stark and to America) that drives the plot of the movie forwards.
Pearce puts in a compelling performance, but he's just one member of an equally accomplished supporting cast. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as Stark's girlfriend/CEO Pepper Potts, always ready with a withering put-down to keep Tony in his place; Don Cheadle gets a beefed-up role as Stark's brother-in-armour, War Machine (renamed here "Iron Patriot" as part of a deliciously cynical subplot); and Paul Bettany returns to voice the perpetually-exasperated J.A.R.V.I.S. computer programme, who co-pilots Stark's suits.
But by far and away the standout turn is Sir Ben Kingsley as Iron Man's arch-villain from the comics, "The Mandarin". It's difficult in this age of superhero popularity to come up with an original spin on such a traditional and old-fashioned moustache-twirling baddie, but Black's script and Kingsley's performance combine to create something truly unique and unexpected. It would ruin the movie to give away any more than that, but suffice it to say that not only is Kingsley suitably menacing in the super-terrorist guise of the Mandarin, but his character later goes on to become one of the most interesting - and, surprisingly, hilarious - in the entire movie.
Enough about the characters, though. A big part of the appeal of superhero movies is the big fights and rescue scenes, and happily, Black doesn't compromise on the action front either. Despite a fairly quiet middle-section of the film (that sends Stark back to basics and pairs him with a kid-sidekick of sorts), there's plenty of large-scale destruction and heroics to enjoy here.
Whether it's the blistering helicopter attack on Tony's beachfront Malibu pad, the tense suicide-bombings that Stark investigates, or an amazing rescue of passengers falling out of an aeroplane (that simply has to be seen to be believed), Black handles these "big" moments effortlessly throughout. And then he manages to surpass all of them with a stunning finale that features more robotic-superhero action than you could ever believe could be crammed into a single film. It's rare that even the best action-comedies can truly match their humourous moments with a similar level of action spectacle, but Black pulls it off here.
Having already seen and enjoyed the movie when it came out at the cinema earlier this year, I was excited to revisit it on Blu-Ray, because the Marvel movies always have home releases that come crammed with special features. And Iron Man 3 is no different. As well as the usual making-ofs and director commentary, there are some interesting deleted scenes that offer extended or alternate versions of material that's already in the movie, as well as completely new sequences that were cut from the finished product. There's also a "gag reel" of outtakes that's loads of fun - especially if you're a fan of Downey Jr. and his wisecracking ways.
But by far the most standout feature on this Blu-Ray is an entirely original short film, "Agent Carter" about a secondary character from the world of Captain America who gets to have a new adventure in her own mini-movie. It's a charming little vignette that doesn't outstay its welcome, and which adds a little more texture and depth to the Marvel movie universe. Like a lot of other viewers, I'm a big fan of the way Marvel uses these little short films and post-credits sequences to tie its movies together, and this is another fine addition to their existing roster of short films (found on the Blu-Ray releases of earlier Marvel movies).
Oh, and talking of this kind of crossover material: once Iron Man 3 is over, be sure to fast-forward all the way to the end for another of Marvel's trademark post-credits scenes. It might be a slightly more low-key affair this time around, but it's worth it - especially for fans of one of Downey Jr's Avengers co-stars.
In summary, then, this is one of the year's best blockbuster movies that couples its action and spectacle with a strong focus on characterisation and a lot of genuinely funny moments of comedy. It stands not only as a great continuation of the Stark story we saw in the Avengers movie, but also as a great capstone for the Iron Man trilogy as a whole. And on Blu-Ray, there are enough special features and extras to make it well worth a purchase.
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Second action adventure sequel in which Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark, the billionaire industrialist also known as armoured superhero Iron Man. When Stark's personal life comes under attack he sets out to discover who is responsible and finds himself coming face-to-face with The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), the villainous commander of a terrorist group. With the lives of his loved ones in danger, Stark fights to save them and in the process begins to consider the truth about the connection between him and his powerful suit. The cast also includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce, Jon Favreau, Don Cheadle and Rebecca Hall.
Please note this is a region B Blu-ray and will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play. Marvel Studios' Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: Does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce and Shane Black. Actors Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau & Ben Kingsley Director Shane Black Certificate 12 years and over Year 2013 Screen 2.40:1 Languages English - DTS-HD Master Audio (7.1) Additional Languages Flemish ; Russian ; French ; English Audio Description Subtitles English ; English for the hearing impaired ; Arabic ; Bulgarian ; Dutch ; Estonian ; Greek ; Latvian ; Lithuanian ; Russian ; Ukrainian ; French Closed Captions Yes Duration 2 hours and 10 minutes (approx)
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