IRON MAN 3

Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow,

Don Cheadle. Jon Favreau, Rebecca Hall, 

Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley

"Unleash the power behind the armor"

Cinema 10, SM Megamall

I find it strange that the 3rd installment in the Iron Man franchise is shown a week ahead in international cinemas than in the land where it was conceptualized and filmed. But that didn't stop me from seeing it, nonetheless.  So this means that viewers in the US will be bombarded with spoilers from anyone and everyone who reviews it. Best avoid reading them if you want to see the film when it opens.

When I headed to the cinema, I noticed a long queue so I was disappointed because I thought I had plenty to time to enjoy the trailers before the actual film commences.  But it turns out it was the line to another theater where Iron Man 3 was showing in 3D. Phew.

I'm not a big fan of 3D.  For one, I'm too cheap to pay extra just to wear some ill fitting eyeglasses so I can see the facial pores of the cast, up close and personal.  2nd, I know for a fact that it would just give me a headache to see computer generated images up close so why subject myself to such agony?

Now on to Iron Man 3. The film takes off after The Avengers where the Marvel superheroes battled machine like aliens who were hellbent on taking over planet Earth.  This incident has deeply affected Tony Stark aka Iron Man. He's been traumatized from the weary battle and now suffers from insomnia.  But this hardly makes him idle as he mostly spends his nights tinkering with his armored suit, enhancing its features as well as developing several prototypes of his Iron Man 'costume'. 

A blast from his past, (specifically 1999) comes back to haunt him. They are in the form of a rejected ex girlfriend, botanist Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) and a nerdy scientist with grandiose ideas named Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) who was equally ignored by Tony Stark.  There is also a megalomaniac villain simply known as The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), sporting a Bin Laden like beard who terrorizes the homeland. 

As far as villains go, the 3 above mentioned characters play their roles with much gusto. Wreaking havoc on America with state of the art technology to their full advantage as well as manipulating the media networks to propagate their cunningly evil ways.

Naturally all of these threats are nothing that Iron Man can handle. Even though his plush mansion is pulverized to the ground or in this case into the deep abyss of the sea. Even though his partner/love interest Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) has been kidnapped. Even though his faithful driver/ally Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) lies in a comatose state after he encounters a robot alien like being disguised as human.

Nothing fazes him although we are also shown a vulnerable side to the normally arrogant and egotistical Tony Stark.   A man scarred by a traumatic experience, bereft of his residence/lab and his inspiration.  He is totally down but surely the only way to redeem yourself is to fight against all odds.

There is the customary loud explosions and the high octane action filled scenes. Notably the sequence where helicopters basically fire away all their loaded ammunition towards the luxurious Stark residence which sits precariously on top of a hill overlooking the ocean.  Another note worthy scene is the finale at the shipyard where all the Iron Man armored suits battle it out with genetically altered human bombs. 

More than the caricature villains and the edge of your seat action scenes, the real heart and soul of the movie is without a doubt Robert Downey, Jr.  As Tony Stark/Iron Man this is a role he was born to play and he certainly lords it up with his fine acting skills.  

Aided by a witty and often funny dialogue, Tony Stark in this 3rd installment has certainly mellowed quite a bit.  But that is in a good way, he is no longer arrogant, so full of himself and egotistical. He shows his caring side especially when it comes to Pepper Potts.   Yet at the same time, he hasn't lost his extravagant flair and is still his ever playful, sarcastic self. Nice combination, if you ask me!   Robert Downey, Jr is my only reason to see Iron Man 3 and gladly he never fails to deliver a fine performance.   

P.S.

Be patient enough to stick around until the end of the credits (very long as there are a 1000 people involved in the making of the film) to watch the short clip.  It was cute!