But it was Mother’s Day. Well, it was Mother’s Day for my mother. Mother’s Day was too busy for her to enjoy it so we relocated it. And she wanted to go see Iron Man 3 for her day. So, I went.
So, SPOILERS!
Iron Man 3 opens with a blast from the past: “Blue” by Eiffle 56. Remember that song? It plays because the movie opens on New Year’s Eve, 1999, when we were all worried about Y2K. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is definitely not as he celebrates in Switzerland, all boozed up and with a young woman named Maya (Rebecca Hall). As they head upstairs for privacy, a geeky young man (Guy Pearce) tries to talk to Tony. He is told to meet Tony on the roof and, guess what? Guy actually goes up there to wait for him. In a bedroom, Maya shows Tony her work: a plant which can regrow damaged branches and leaves. She believes she can do this with humans as well but there’s one problem as Tony Stark’s loyal bodyguard Happy (Jon Favreau) soon learns: the subjects occasionally go boom. As the third millennium and the twenty-first century starts, Tony leaves Maya in the hotel room.
Fast forward twelve years…Tony is tinkering with his suits as a proto-type WALL-E cleans his lab. He is hyped on something, most likely Red Bull. Lots and lots of Red Bull. One can hope. While he works on his suits, Pepper (Gwenyth Paltrow) is running Stark Industries and Happy is driving everyone insane as the head of security. Pepper takes a meeting with an old suitor named Killian. He’s our geeky friend from Switzerland only know he’s…good-looking. Even Pepper is taken aback. He offers her a chance to have Maya’s technology, but she turns him down and then goes home to Tony. Who is still wired. Pepper is concerned and Tony admits he has trouble sleeping. It’s all that Red Bull, I tell you. Or it has something to do with the events of “The Avengers.”
Meanwhile, the movie gets interrupted every so often by messages from a terrorist known only as “The Mandarin.” Who is a bit weird—a Chinese name, espousing hatred of the West but seeming to be involved with Islamic fundamentalists. The discrepancies are explained later in the film but for now, they add a terrifying touch to the movie, especially in their realism. As such, the government gives Tony’s friend Rhodey (Don Cheadle) a redesigned suit and a new name—Iron Patriot. Tony thinks “War Machine” is still better but in the middle of ribbing his friend, he has a panic attack and flies off.
Happy hangs around the Chinese Theater when he spots one of Killian’s people hanging around. Suspicious, he tries to stay close and ends up hurt when another man goes boom like Maya’s plant. The Mandarin takes responsibility so Tony calls him out on live television. He even gives out his home address so Pepper wants to get the hell out of dodge. Maya, though, shows up to talk to Tony just as the Mandarin launches an attack. Tony uses a suit to save Pepper before trying to fight off the attack, but he is severely damaged and is presumed dead.
Pepper runs off with Maya, who is working with Killian. She ends up kidnapped by them while Tony ends up in Tennessee. He is helped by a young boy, Harley (Ty Simpkins), as he continues to investigate what is going on. Tony starts to piece things together while using on his skills and knowledge to keep himself alive as Killian’s super soldiers chase after him. Everyone comes to a head in a tense battle where Tony could lose everything he holds most dear.
No, I’m not revealing the movie’s end. There were some twists that I thought were good so I’ll leave people unspoilered.
I enjoyed “Iron Man 3.” Downey infuses Tony Stark with the right amount of cockiness and vulnerability. And as Pepper, Paltrow got to do some heavy lifting as well. The scene where she holds Iron Man’s damaged mask was poignant, even if it did scream “TRAILER SHOT!” Guy Pearce was a bit one-note as the villain, like I’ve seen his ilk before and he had nothing new to offer. And Simpkins was great as Harley. Tony’s relationship with the kid was one of the best parts of the movie.
Were there slow parts? Yeah. But for the most part, it’s a great action flick to pass a rainy afternoon.
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