*Caution: Spoilers may follow!
I was a bit hesitant to go and see Iron Man 3, simply because I did not have the opportunity to watch Iron Man 2 or The Avengers and was worried that I may have missed some important plot points. Luckily for me, there was a decent amount of exposition sprinkled throughout the film so even if one had not seen the first film, one would still completely understand the goings-on of the third.
The film opens with Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) aka Iron Man recounting a chance meeting on New Years Eve, 1999, with scientist Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). Killian presents Tony with an offer to enter into a partnership to explore an experimental regenerative treatment to help people with disfiguring injuries. Tony turns down the offer and puts the meeting out of mind.
Years later, after the events of The Avengers, an insomniatic Tony has created dozens of Iron Man suits, causing friction with his girlfriend Pepper (Gwyneth Paltrow). When ongoing terror attacks from The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) hit home and injure Tony’s pal and Stark Industries security chief, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), Tony jumps into action and threatens The Mandarin on national television. The Mandarin responds by attacking Tony’s Malibu mansion in a spectacular shootout. Pepper, aided by one of Tony’s suits, survives the attack, while Tony, encapsulated in his own suit is dragged by his crumbling home into the abyss of the Pacific Ocean and left for dead. Saved by his own suit, Tony sets a course to uncover the truth behind the bombings of The Mandarin.
Aided by a 10-year old boy named, Harley, they discover that Killian’s experimental treatment is full of glitches and some subjects spontaneously reject it. Harley and Tony trace The Mandarin to Miami only to discover that he is merely an actor and the frontman for the true terrorist, Aldrich Killian. Tony is subsequently captured by Killian and discovers that Pepper is also among the prisoners and has become an unwilling test subject. Tony summons his Iron Man suit and reunites with James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) aka War Machine aka Iron Patriot to help save the President, also taken captive by Killian. Outnumbered by Killian’s volcanic henchmen, Tony remotely summons his remaining suits to aid in the ensuing battle. Rhodes saves the President, Pepper falls from Tony’s outstretched hands and Tony engages in hand to hand combat with Killian, eventually trapping him in an Iron Man suit and ordering it to self destruct. Unfortunately, Killian survives and fortunately, Pepper’s body accepts the experiment and she survives to end Killian once and for all. In an effort to prove his enduring love to Pepper, Tony commands the remaining Iron Man suits to self destructs and devotes his time to her. Pepper’s condition is treated, Tony’s chest shrapnel is removed and he throws his reactor into the sea.
In a post-credits epilogue, it is revealed that Tony has been recounting this tale to his friend, Dr. Bruce Banner aka The Hulk. Perhaps a tease for the upcoming Avengers 2 film?
All in all, Iron Man 3 is fun popcorn film packed full of action. Kudos for a good portion of the film needs to be given to the visual effects crew – they created the spectacle and made excellent use of the 3D elements. Lately in the world of 3D film, scenes are overstuffed and over the top. They were picky in their use and didn’t attempt to overstimulate. Robert Downey, Jr. is his usual charming, brusque self and Gwyneth Paltrow gets a chance to flaunt the action hero within. Fans of the franchise will, no doubt, love this instant hit!
