MOVIE REVIEW - Iron Man 3

Movies like Iron Man 3 are then hardest to review.  Because virtually everyone that goes to see this movie, started loving this movie months before they saw one minute of it.  And they don't want to hear anything but how great it is.

And that's how it is with these kinds of movies.   Many, so fixated on what the movie makers "can" do and not what they "could" do.  Right up front, the special effects here are first class, and this movie is visually very stunning, no matter if you go regular or 3-D.  This is even in IMAX 3-D, which makes any movie spectacular.   This has a marvelous and exciting musical soundtrack that accompanies the long action sequences.  Sets and staging for this movie are first rate, and much of this looks, and sometimes feels very good.

Robert Downey Jr is back as Tony Stark/Iron Man.  Gwenyth Paltrow is back as Pepper, and much of the rest of the regular supporting cast is back as well.  All fine.  Ben Kingsley is a guest star here as The Mandarin, the new "villain", and Guy Pearce is here, and he too is on Iron Man's wrong side Seems all the elements are in place for a very good movie.  And much of this is good.  But then there's reality.

In short, this is a very non-subtle movie that puts terrorism right out front.   There is a new kind of science that is DNA altering and could have wonderful uses when injected into humans.  The thought is to grow back and repair parts of the body that become damaged, or even amputated.  But the science is flawed and there are massive failures.  But this technology falls into terrorist hands and now it is being used to force an agenda.   More on that later.  The "Think Tank" create a face to the movement and his name is The Mandarin.  He and this group are extremely anti-west, anti-American, and anti-big oil and big business.  So they target America with their campaign.

They also target Stark and his technology hoping that they can acquire that so they can not only terrorize the world, but they couldn't be stopped.  They believe America likes to fight a war on terror, and they want to supply the supply.   They pose a huge threat to the country and the world and to Iron Man himself, as the new technology seems to trump his.

But what this turns out to be is really something else rooted deep in the story and really makes this under what it should be. This terrorist group in the end turns out to be a radical environmental group on steroids.   They execute an oil executive on live TV, and they try to kill The President who they say is soft on an oil spill they are angry about.   They blow up Air Force One, torture the President, infiltrate the Vice-President and flip him over to their side for his own gain.  

Then there's the villain.  Basic Superhero 101.  You must have a fantastic villain to make a great superhero movie.  And this movie plain and simple does not have one.  In fact, the amazing villain you think you're going to get in Ben Kingsley, turns out to be a rouse on you, the customer, and that is the films most disappointing feature.  Truth be told, he's hardly in this movie at all. And certainly does not live up to the billing or as advertised.  

What Iron Man hasn't figured out quite yet, is that as fun and funny as Tony Stark is, villains make these movie great. Ask the Batman makers how Heath Ledger worked out, Tom Hardy too.  And the list goes on from there.  I always think what makes these movies go, is your hatred for the bad guy, and not your love for the good.   This gets lost here, and what this turns into, is a video game with tons of Iron Men running around trying to save the day.   I now that can be very compelling for many fans,  but it thins out the story and cheapens the movie.  This movie should have it all, big effects, big characters and an inventive story.    What it really has, it toys, gadgets, computers and effects.

In the end this is a big, loud and visually stunning movie that is going to be very entertaining for tons of people.   But this series as big as this will be, could be teetering on having to decide where it wants to go.  How many more wisecracks will we have to hear Stark say, and how many more facets can they develop for Iron Man himself.

Iron Man 3.  This may rewrite every single box office record ever for the time being.   But from my seat, it's not all it should have been.