SALON

Thursday, May 2, 2013 5:45 PM UTC

“Iron Man 3″: A playboy grows up

Robert Downey Jr. is funny and moving, and Ben Kingsley makes a delicious techno-Osama, in summer's first big hit

By

Topics: Movies, Action movies, Summer movies, superheroes, Comic Books, iron man, iron man 3, Robert Downey Jr., Shane Black, ben kingsley, Gwyneth Paltrow,

As far as bored and cynical, playing-out-the-string comic-book action sequels go – hey, “Iron Man 3” is a pretty good one! The third and purportedly last of Robert Downey Jr.’s adventures as the armor-clad but increasingly vulnerable Tony Stark features one of Downey’s most nuanced performances, arguably a lot better than the movie around him, and keeps him separated from the physical and emotional protection of the Iron Man suit for extended periods. There are several good supporting performances, not even including Gwyneth Paltrow’s abdominal muscles, which is really all I can remember about Pepper Potts: Guy Pearce, as a nerd genius spurned by Tony Stark years earlier who comes back for revenge; Ben Kingsley, most delicious of all, as a shadowy techno-Osama known as the Mandarin.

One-time action-movie wunderkind Shane Black (of “Lethal Weapon” fame), who directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Drew Pearce, strikes a tone of pseudo-edgy frat-boy black comedy that’s so retro it’s almost charming. (This movie is simultaneously a conclusion and a comeback story; Black hasn’t made anything in Hollywood since directing Downey in “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” in 2005.) Ludicrous and overblown as the whole thing is, it comes with a half-convincing tone of elegy: Memento mori, dude! All things must pass, even idiotic but enjoyable action trilogies about a billionaire with a flying suit of armor. After its own weird Shane Black fashion, “Iron Man 3” is a story about a boy growing into a man, losing the bachelor pad and the sports car, and becoming a husband and a father – though not necessarily in that order, and with a whole bunch of chaotic ass-kicking to receive and administer along the way.

On one hand, story in a comic-book film is largely a pretext for showing off the technology and moving the characters into spectacular confrontations. On the other hand, plot is a difficult thing to get right in a movie like this, because it needs to employ familiar tropes – a hero, a villain, a globe-threatening crisis and a couple of unexpected switches – while not seeming entirely derivative. Black and Pearce get a solid B-plus here for Kingsley’s mysterious Mandarin, who looks vaguely Middle Eastern but talks with a possibly put-on down-home accent, and hacks into cable TV transmissions anytime he wants to deliver his dire messages to the world. He has some revenge agenda directed at the sourpuss Republican-looking president played by William Sadler, and one of the faintly seditious touches in Black’s work is that it’s nearly impossible to feel any sympathy for that guy. Then there are two figures out of Tony Stark’s past, a cutting-edge brain researcher called Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), snubbed by Tony at a Y2K New Year’s Eve party, and a long-ago ex-girlfriend played by Rebecca Hall, who may never have gotten over him.

Throw in a series of bombing attacks in which no traces of actual bombs are ever found, along with a dramatic helicopter attack on Stark’s Malibu clifftop home that nearly finishes off both Tony and Pepper – who still seem, as throughout this series, more like brother and sister than anything else – and we’re set up for a decent chase mystery. A small town in Tennessee is almost entirely destroyed in a showdown between Tony and a battalion of the Mandarin’s weaponized super-soldiers, Iron Man has to save a dozen or so people as they plunge through space from an exploding airplane (OK, it’s actually Air Force One), and almost everyone in the movie winds up aboard an oil tanker for a nonsensical last battle in which any connection to cinematic space and time is abandoned. I’ve already been asked whether the PG-13 “Iron Man 3” is appropriate for younger kids. It depends on the kids, of course, but my hunch is that my 9-year-olds would find it incomprehensible both in tone and content, and also excessively violent.

While the airborne rescue may be the best action sequence in this trilogy (and the oil-tanker battle may be the worst), both Black and Downey are at their best when Tony is stranded in rural Tennessee at Christmastime, with no working Iron Man suit, forced to team up with a fatherless budding techno-prodigy of 9 or so (played by Ty Simpkins). “That’s what dads do,” Tony tells the kid, “they leave. There’s no call to be a pussy about it.” But of course we understand that Tony’s bionically altered heart has been touched by this kid, who correctly diagnoses that Tony is suffering from a panic disorder and possible PTSD, after those events in New York with the wormhole and the aliens and so on.

That is, I guess, a reference to events in last summer’s huge hit “The Avengers,” a movie I saw and wrote about but now can only barely remember, even after reading a plot summary. Even if this movie marks the conclusion of the Iron Man franchise, at least in this iteration, we are assured at the end that “Tony Stark will return,” no doubt in the “Avengers” sequel planned for the summer of 2015. And so the promised maturity of the comic-book universe remains theoretical, somewhere beyond the distant horizon. It may be time for Tony Stark to grow up, get help and move on, but his fans don’t have to.

Andrew O

More Andrew O'Hehir.

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

7 motorist-friendly camping sites

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Sponsored Post

  • White River National Forest via Lower Crystal Lake, Colorado
    For those OK with the mainstream, White River Forest welcomes more than 10 million visitors a year, making it the most-visited recreation forest in the nation. But don’t hate it for being beautiful; it’s got substance, too. The forest boasts 8 wilderness areas, 2,500 miles of trail, 1,900 miles of winding service system roads, and 12 ski resorts (should your snow shredders fit the trunk space). If ice isn’t your thing: take the tire-friendly Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway — 82 miles connecting the towns of Meeker and Yampa, half of which is unpaved for you road rebels.
    fs.usda.gov/whiteriveryou


    Image credit: Getty

  • Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest via Noontootla Creek, Georgia
    Boasting 10 wildernesses, 430 miles of trail and 1,367 miles of trout-filled stream, this Georgia forest is hailed as a camper’s paradise. Try driving the Ridge and Valley Scenic Byway, which saw Civil War battles fought. If the tall peaks make your engine tremble, opt for the relatively flat Oconee National Forest, which offers smaller hills and an easy trail to the ghost town of Scull Shoals. Scaredy-cats can opt for John’s Mountain Overlook, which leads to twin waterfalls for the sensitive sightseer in you.
    fs.usda.gov/conf


    Image credit: flickr/chattoconeenf

  • Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area via Green Road, Michigan
    The only national forest in Lower Michigan, the Huron-Mainstee spans nearly 1 million acres of public land. Outside the requisite lush habitat for fish and wildlife on display, the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area is among the biggest hooks for visitors: offering beach camping with shores pounded by big, cerulean surf. Splash in some rum and you just might think you were in the Caribbean.
    fs.usda.gov/hmnf


    Image credit: umich.edu

  • Canaan Mountain via Backcountry Canaan Loop Road, West Virginia
    A favorite hailed by outdoorsman and author Johnny Molloy as some of the best high-country car camping sites anywhere in the country, you don’t have to go far to get away. Travel 20 miles west of Dolly Sods (among the busiest in the East) to find the Canaan Backcountry (for more quiet and peace). Those willing to leave the car for a bit and foot it would be remiss to neglect day-hiking the White Rim Rocks, Table Rock Overlook, or the rim at Blackwater River Gorge.
    fs.usda.gov/mnf


    Image credit: Getty

  • Mt. Rogers NRA via Hurricane Creek Road, North Carolina
    Most know it as the highest country they’ll see from North Carolina to New Hampshire. What they may not know? Car campers can get the same grand experience for less hassle. Drop the 50-pound backpacks and take the highway to the high country by stopping anywhere on the twisting (hence the name) Hurricane Road for access to a 15-mile loop that boasts the best of the grassy balds. It’s the road less travelled, and the high one, at that.
    fs.usda.gov/gwj


    Image credit: wikipedia.org

  • Long Key State Park via the Overseas Highway, Florida
    Hiking can get old; sometimes you’d rather paddle. For a weekend getaway of the coastal variety and quieter version of the Florida Keys that’s no less luxe, stick your head in the sand (and ocean, if snorkeling’s your thing) at any of Long Key’s 60 sites. Canoes and kayaks are aplenty, as are the hot showers and electric power source amenities. Think of it as the getaway from the typical getaway.
    floridastateparks.org/longkey/default.cfm


    Image credit: floridastateparks.org

  • Grand Canyon National Park via Crazy Jug Point, Arizona
    You didn’t think we’d neglect one of the world’s most famous national parks, did you? Nor would we dare lead you astray with one of the busiest parts of the park. With the Colorado River still within view of this cliff-edge site, Crazy Jug is a carside camper’s refuge from the troops of tourists. Find easy access to the Bill Hall Trail less than a mile from camp, and descend to get a peek at the volcanic Mt. Trumbull. (Fear not: It’s about as active as your typical lazy Sunday in front of the tube, if not more peaceful.)
    fs.usda.gov/kaibab


    Image credit: flickr/Irish Typepad

  • As the go-to (weekend) getaway car for fiscally conscious field trips with friends, the 2013 MINI Convertible is your campground racer of choice, allowing you and up to three of your co-pilots to take in all the beauty of nature high and low. And with a fuel efficiency that won’t leave you in the latter, you won’t have to worry about being left stranded (or awkwardly asking to go halfsies on gas expenses).


    Image credit: miniusa.com

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 9

Related Videos

Comments

 6 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
467 points468 points | 21 comments
vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
348 points349 points | 29 comments
vote
Machiavelli doesn’t belong to the 1 percent | "The Prince" is oft-quoted on Wall Street, but its author was a hero of the working class who despised elites
92 points93 points | 33 comments
vote
Yes, there is a better search engine (1998)
86 points87 points | 24 comments
vote
Let's Stop Screwing Around and Impeach James Clapper: After lying to Congress about all the different ways the NSA's spying on us, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lies about how he lied. Call the White House at 202 456-1111 and Tell Obama to Get Rid of Clapper
80 points81 points | 9 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Joker": Laughing at life's deepest sorrows