Iron Man 3

3 pipes out of 4

When you think that Jon Favreau has exhausted the broken Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Shane Black, director of the Lethal Weapon series, throws a curve and reinvents the character. Unlike Favreau who focused on Stark’s personal faults, Black looks at the effect of New York in the Avengers took on Tony. Instead of fighting alcoholism, Stark fights anxiety. Instead of overcoming egotism, Stark must come to terms to which Iron Man really is the man or the suit. The one drawback is that again Tony and Pepper Potts’ (Gwyneth Paltrow) relationship is heavily strained by Tony’s internal battle. This seems to happen in every Iron Man film and the only reprieve where we see a happy couple is in The Avengers. Granted in this case it helps the story heavily and unlike Iron Man 2 Pepper is much more understanding as is Stark. The overall theme of Iron Man 3, as you are introduced to it in the very beginning with a voice over flashback to 1999, is that you create your own demons whether you mean to or not. Guy Pearce plays a wormy head of a think tank looking for investors believing humans where meant to evolve far beyond what we currently are. Ben Kingsley gives an interesting take on the villain the Mandarin while Rebecca Hall, who you might recognize from The Town or her golden globe nominated role in Vicky Christina Barcelona, plays the jilted lover of tony Stark and a biologist specializing in regenerative technology. Don Cheadle reprises his role as Colonel James Rhodes who is getting kind of annoying how loyal he remains to an obviously corrupt government. There are a number of twists and turns that are completely unexpected, some being refreshing and some bearing slight disappointment but they keep you invested in the story along with the characters. The main highlight of the film is Stark’s interaction with a young boy who has been abandoned by his father similar to Tony. Their cynicism towards each other and continual bickering provides constant laughs. Going onto this film not much was expected but much was received thanks to an amazing revival of the franchise by Black. Due to Black’s masterful reinvention, there now can be true excitement for what will happen in Avengers 2 and green light an Iron Man 4.