Iron Man 3: A good intro to the Summer!

As I came back from a quick jaunt around downtown Chicago, it looks like we have decided to skip spring completely and transition to summer. 80 degrees in May? We'll take it.

My movie going experience has had that same transformation, going directly from The Place Beyond the Pines, Trance, and Upstream Color - all of which independent releases with varying degrees of bizarreness - to the biggest summer blockbuster (so far) this year: Iron Man 3.

My personal history with the Iron Man series has been a mixed bag. The first one took the concept of a super-human man and ground him in reality, albeit one with super-powered suits and heart-magnets. Regardless, it kept itself grounded and stayed out of the extraterrestrial/supernatural element that most Marvel movies drift towards. It had a great cast, tight plot, and excellent action set-pieces and cinematography.

Then Iron Man 2 came along and pretty much brought the series to a stand-still. I wasn't sold on Don Cheadle as Rhodes (Terrance Howard nailed the part IMHO), and the plot was both all over the place and not detailed enough in some of its points. Again the action was good but it really slowed the momentum brought up by the original Iron Man.

*Some Spoilers Ahead*

Following up the excellent Avengers, Iron Man 3 gets the series back on track. First, the dialogue and character development was top-notch, which is not surprising to me personally since Shane Black's directorial debut Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is in my top 10, maybe top 5 movies of all time. Spending the majority of the time deconstructing the "billionaire playboy philanthropist" Tony Stark that had been built up by his previous 3 film appearance was a very effective way to establish him as a super-hero not necessarily defined by his armor. While obviously lifting some elements from The Dark Knight Trilogy (that's a whole other blog post), seeing him solve crimes and act heroically with only ~15 minutes spent inside the armor makes him a much more believable and easier to relate to character overall.

While the character development and script was on point, the plot could be a little lackluster at time. **MAJOR SPOILER** I thought the turn of the Mandarin to be nothing but smoke and mirrors was a little weak and a cheap solution. I understand that the character the Comics was much more Supernatural/Spiritual in nature, but now that we are in a universe with Norse Gods, Aliens, and a Hulk, the idea of keeping a realistic/grounded super-hero movie is a little harder to swallow. Thankfully the main villain of the movie was done expertly by Guy Pearce, and was the best super villain of the Iron Man trilogy.
Last and not least, the effects were amazing. The scenes of the armor interacting with Pepper Potts and Lounging around were incredible, and at times I couldn't even tell if there was CG used. I didn't see Life of Pie, but this may be some of the most realistic animation I've seen in years.

Overall, Iron Man 3 was an enjoyable summer movie and a great opener to the Blockbuster season. While there were some problems with the plot and a few missed opportunities, it brought the series back from the lackluster Iron Man 2 and established Tony Stark as a true hero, suit or not.