Sometimes a Good Notion

The Amazing-ly Frivolous Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3, with it’s superb cast,  A+ effects, and non-stop action is thoroughly entertaining fare and a perfect summer opener.  It is also downright disappointing.  Director/Writer Shane Black misses the mark set by his predecessor. He creates a film devoid of irony or tragedy. This Tony Stark is more concerned with getting to his next one liner than he is with the more existential threats that surround him. This cavalier attitude towards adding any gravity to this film is reflected in the cheap plot twists that waste the talents of actors like Kingsley and Pearce and insult the audience’s intelligence.

The film opens with a flashback to a party where a desperate Aldrich Killian (Pearce) pitches his scientific organization to Stark and Dr. Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall).  Stark,  more interested in bedding Hansen than developing business relationships, asks Killian to wait for him on the roof on that cold New Years Eve night.  Needless to say, Stark never shows, and we are left with the image of Killian waiting alone and as desperate as we first saw him.  We exit the flashback with Stark explaining that on that night he created demons that would forever change his life.  It’s a ridiculous notion… and makes the rest of the story inconsequential. Writer/Director Shane Black would have us believe that Killian would go on to become a criminal mastermind and terrorize the world  because he was well, for lack of better words, stood up. He could have just made an appointment. Check your brain at the door kids, it doesn’t get any better from there.

Where Iron Man 3 excels is at providing the non-stop action we have come to expect in summer films. The set pieces run into each other beautifully and the action is almost ceaseless. It is anchored by Downey Jr.  who is as good as he has ever been, and  Paltrow who gets well deserved screen time and is the foundation around which the drama revolves. The story also uses a different mechanic to move the plot along.  It is closer to a detective story than its predecessors. Stark spends most of his time outside of his iron suit, depending only on his wit for invention and sarcasm to get closer to the truth.

The best moments in the film come from the budding relationship between Stark and Harley Keener (Ty Simpkins), a kid Stark befriends as he investigates the mysterious bombings occurring around the world. These two play off each other naturally, and the comedy here is a well deserved reprieve from the explosions, violence, and plot.

Iron Man 3 is a good flick.  It entertains as it should but it comes nowhere near adding anything valuable to the franchise. We have come to expect some darkness in our heroes.  The costumes they wear should be more than just razzle and dazzle.  They should be a curse to the character and a blessing to society. Favreau, the director of films 1 & 2, understood this enough to at least nod to it. Stark’s existence, physical and metaphorical, was tied to his father’s legacy.  His monsters, Obadiah and Vanko, where not his own.  They were his father’s. There was irony in this.  All of that is gone in Iron Man 3. The only thing we learn is that Tony Stark is a bully  and that Shane Black likes jokes… lots and lots of jokes.