Review: Iron Man 3 (Shane Black, 2013)

Robert Downey Jr. is back in suitably charismatic form as billionaire genius and playboy Tony Stark, in the entertaining third installment in the Iron Man franchise. Director/co-writer Shane Black, responsible for awesome noir throwback Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and buddy cop classic Lethal Weapon, has taken the reins from Jon Favreau (Iron Man 1 and 2), who sticks around with an amusing cameo, crafting a film with surprising social relevance and heart. He has successfully fused comic book sensibilities, thrilling high-stakes action, guffaw-worthy humour and compelling character drama into a top class visual effects bonanza that fits nicely into the current Marvel canon.

Following the events of The Avengers in Manhattan, Tony has been struggling to sleep and suffers from anxiety attacks whenever reminded of the ordeal. He busies himself tinkering with his suits, giving individual elements their own exclusive power, which allows the suit to remotely fit together on his person from disparate pieces. While Tony has been trying to put his mind at rest, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), has been approached by Aldich Killian (Guy Pearce), a rival businessman who was involved in a fleeting but important moment from Tony’s past. He requests Stark Industries’ allegiance with his company, which is operating an Extremis Program involving the experimental treatment of crippling injury. Meanwhile, an antagonistic and sadistic terrorist known as The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) has been responsible for a series of bombings on U.S soil. When Tony threatens him, he retaliates by targeting everything that Tony has come to hold dear.

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