Iron Man 3 (2013) [Blu-ray]
Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline: Unleash the power behind the armor.
Tagline: Prepare for a heavy metal!

Note: This film wasn't shot in native 3D, nor was its post-conversion in the cards from the beginning (i.e., Iron Man 3 simply isn't built to be a 3D spectacle).

The studio that brought you Marvel's The Avengers unleashes the best Iron Man adventure yet with this must-own, global phenomenon starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow. When Tony Stark/Iron Man finds his entire world reduced to rubble, he must use all his ingenuity to survive, destroy his enemy and somehow protect those he loves. But a soul-searching question haunts him: Does the man make the suit... or does the suit make the man? Featuring spectacular special effects, Marvels' Iron Man 3 explodes with exclusive Blu-ray and DVD content!

Storyline: Marvel's "Iron Man 3" pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? Written by Jawadjee

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Kenneth Brown on September 18, 2013 -- Pop quiz, hot shot. When was the last time you walked out of the third film in a trilogy with a grin on your face? Trilogy cappers are notoriously tough nuts to crack. More often than not, even the best Part IIIs are divisive, and only a select few deliver something truly special. Even rarer is the fabled Trilogy Topper: a film that outclasses its predecessors and stands tall and proud as the unmistakably best of the bunch.

The simply but aptly titled Iron Man 3 falls somewhere between divisive third-parter and undisputed trilogy topper. Would-be filmfans responded with equally impassioned jeers and cheers when the eagerly anticipated, billion-dollar summer blockbuster debuted in theaters; particularly the disenfranchised comicbook readers among you who were none too fond of filmmaker Shane Black and co-writer Drew Pearce's controversial but fearless take on The Mandarin, the foremost villain in Tony Stark's corner of the Marvel Universe. Iron Man 3 is a far better film than its detractors give it credit, though, quite a different film than the one most will experience during their first viewing, and one that does indeed best each Iron Man that comes before it. (IM3 handily breezes past the god-awful Iron Man 2 while narrowly inching by Jon Favreau's original Iron Man.) Is it a flawless fling? A perfectly fantastic hurrah? For that matter, is it a more effective Iron Man 3 than Joss Whedon's The Avengers? No, no and... no. For all its bravado and arc-wrapping aspirations, Black's wry action-comedy is more IM4 than IM3, and works better as a solid one-off or a second trilogy opener than a proper close to Marvel's Phase One Stark saga. That said, you aren't likely to have this much fun, laugh this hard or applaud this loud while watching any other comicbook spectacle this year.

With Loki's Chitauri invasion thwarted, billionaire inventor and recent world savior Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) retreats to his Malibu mansion and begins work on a never-ending series of armors culminating in the Mark XLII, a suit capable of assembling itself, piece by piece, around its wearer with the flick of a wrist. Haunted by memories of the attack on New York and plagued by insomnia and panic attacks, Tony isn't sure what sort of man he is anymore, or if he even has what it takes to be the cocksure hero he once was. Clarity begins to come, though, when The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), a deadly international terrorist whose past is shrouded in mystery, stages a string of bombings across the U.S., one of which lands Stark friend and bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) in the hospital.


Impulsively challenging The Mandarin to literally bring the fight to his doorstep, Tony inadvertently invites a world of hurt upon himself, live-in girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), resident artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Bettany), botanist and former one-night-stand Dr. Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), and on-again, off-again best bud and fellow shellhead, Rhodey Rhodes (Don Cheadle), whose government-owned War Machine has been painted red, white and blue and redubbed The Iron Patriot. Tony is not only forced to go on the run from The Mandarin -- without a fully functioning suit of armor, no less -- he finds himself at odds with the enigmatic villain's allies and underlings: Advanced Idea Mechanics founder Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), his fire-slinging right-hand henchie Eric Savin (James Badge Dale), hot-headed assassin Ellen Brandt (Stephanie Szostak), and a small army of super-powered soldiers granted their extraordinary abilities by a volatile virus dubbed Extremis.

Iron Man 3 is Marvel's snarkiest, Starkiest Iron Avenger actioner yet, with more one-liners and pop culture references per square inch than any Marvel movie to date. Upon first viewing, the comedy is almost too pervasive, occasionally distracting from the PTSD drama and Tony's ongoing evolution. Some will also deem its Extremis-wielding baddies as being rather generic, its kidnap-the-president plot derivative, and its Tony & The Kid subplot unnecessary. (Unnecessary now, that is. Young Ty Simpkins' Harley Keener might just become future space-faring hero, Nova. Stay tuned, Marvel maniacs.) But IM3 is only a blazingly brash action-comedy the first time around. Further viewings retain the beats and beatdowns quite nicely, yet also reveal how much is going on beneath the surface, how ingenious its villains (and their best-kept secrets) really are, how much more Downey Jr. and his castmates have brought to the table this time around, and how much more complex and nuanced the story and, in some regards, the underlying sociopolitical commentary tend to be. All that with Tony spending (in retrospect) a startling amount of time out of his armor. (Full armor anyway. One of the highlights of the film is Stark's makeshift home improvement store "suit," followed by his impromptu boot/gauntlet/uzi combo. Mark XLIII and Mark XLIV anyone?)

Yes, IM3 is more of a bridge between The Avengers and (presumably) The Avengers: Age of Ultron than a true trilogy capper. And yes, its second-act gotcha gag can most definitely be a shock to the system. (You know the one. If not, brace for a big laugh... or a big groan.) But Iron Man 3 is more than the sum of its parts, and far more than its flaws, banter-laden tomfoolery, and sleight of hand will strike the film's biggest critics. The difference? We, the popcorn-movie horde, have become so used to being inundated with exposition and hand-holding that it's become much too easy for us to overlook visual clues and cues that aren't painted red or highlighted by a lingering zoom. When did we start expecting movies to giftwrap and deliver everything they have to offer in one sitting? Why don't we revisit blockbusters multiple times, attempting to unearth more and more subtleties with each subsequent viewing? Why do I continue to be surprised that Iron Man 3 is such a wildly different film each time I watch it? Even supposed plot holes and bizarre decisions suddenly seal up and make more sense as time passes, at least for those willing to consider the possibility that Black and Pearce know what they're doing. (Those with nagging doubts to the contrary should give the filmmakers' audio commentary a listen and then take another stab at the film. It makes for a whole new IM3.)

Above all, Black's run at Iron Man is a fittingly dazzling, vulnerable and, let's just say it, daring introduction to the Starkverse 2.0 and the new stakes of the post-alien invasion Marvel Cinematic Universe. Nearly as big, bad, funny and grand in scale as the most thrilling MCU extravaganzas (even without flying Leviathans, dimensional portals, or Green Behemoths smashing puny gods), it's a fine farewell to the standalone Iron Man movies... if we're to believe reports that Downey Jr. will part ways with the MCU after Avengers 3, without starring in any further IM one-shots. With the right script -- and the return of Downey's pal Shane in the director's chair -- anything can happen, of course, and I doubt many would complain. Black and Pearce infuse Iron Man 3 with a sense of immediacy, urgency and spontaneity (out of the armor and in), as well as an enviable dose of wiry wit and unassuming ease. Like Stark, the third Iron Man has style and swagger to spare, yet still has the innate sense to sacrifice self for the greater MCU good.

You gotta hand it to Robert Downey Jr. The man owns the Marvel Cinematic Universe at this point, and it's hard to imagine it without him. Still, Tony Stark will live on with or without the snarktastic funnyman, and if Iron Man 3 is any indication, there's plenty of room for more films, more stories, more villains, more iron-heroics and more Avengers-free missions to come. It's Disney's Blu-ray release, though, that steals the show here, with a perfect AV presentation born from a terrific transfer and a powerhouse DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track. Yes, the 3D experience isn't all that great, and yes, some extra supplemental punch would have added even more value to the package. But with an audio commentary (one of the best I've heard in some time), Disney Second Screen experience, Marvel One-Shot short, two featurettes, sixteen-minutes of deleted and extended scenes, and more, it's difficult to feign too much disappointment. Iron Man 3 comes highly recommended... in 2D. The 3D experience is a semi-decent bonus I suppose, but not enough to necessarily make the 3D version as tempting a release.

[CSW] -2.3- This movie just didn't really do it for me. I didn't really like the whole panic attacks and him not being able to sleep etc. To me the suits doing most of the fighting on their own really took away from Iron man. At times you wonder why they are even suits and not just drones. Seeing different versions of the suits was cool but the problem is you see very little of them. This movie falls flat on multiple levels with poor storytelling of a poor story and goofy Extremis CGI. I'm glad I rented the 2D version while contemplating getting the 3D version, which now won't happen. I say skip Iron Man 3 and hope they fix things in an Iron Man 4!
[V5.0-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - D-Box 10/10. 3-D 6/10.


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