Iron Man 3

I've been told I have a way with words. I've also been told I should do movie reviews. This is me giving you the best of both worlds. What better way to kick it off than with summer's first blockbuster? I'll try to keep it as spoiler free as I can. No guarantees. You have been warned.

Iron Man 3 is the beginning of Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the movie, Tony Stark returns and seems to be suffering some major internal issues after the events of The Avengers. As a result, the relationship between him and Pepper Potts becomes strained. Meanwhile, the world is under attack by a mysterious and dangerous antagonist calling himself The Mandarin. At his disposal, an army of self destructive former military soldiers provided by Aldrich Killian, the mastermind behind the regeneration program known as Extremis. Did I mention James Rhodes became Iron Patriot? Not diggin' the makeover War Machine.

Robert Downey Jr. and company nailed it as usual. The dialogue had everything I would come to expect from Iron Man and then some. There was a nice even balance between humor and seriousness and everybody had their fair amount of screen time. Yes, including Stan Lee and Joss Whedon. Ben Kingsley and Aldrich Killian even proved to be very intimidating antagonists. Summer blockbuster enthusiasts can also rejoice! There's enough explosions and fight sequences for all of you! But enough about the obvious. There were two things that made this movie stand out from it's predecessors.

A very important question was answered in this movie that I was very worried about going into the theater. How do you make a villain such as The Mandarin believable? It's the conundrum that made Marvel scratch their heads ever since creating the first movie. Long story short, The Mandarin is a sorcerer in comic book canon. This movie not only showed a new modern take on the character, but the plot twist involving him made everyone's jaws hit the floor. Well played, Marvel.

We also got to see Tony Stark out of his element. Left to his own devices so to speak. Captain America said it best. If you take away the armor, what happens? Tony pretty much had to start from scratch in this film. Using his ingenuity and genius, he was able to create and fight without the use of his laboratory or his suits. Amazing what you can do with the help of a 10 year old and a few items from a hardware store.

I'm not entirely sure what this movie means for Tony Stark as there was a sense of finality in this "trilogy". I doubt we've seen the last of Iron Man in the MCU though. Crossing my fingers that Robert Downey Jr. doesn't exit anytime soon.

Score: 9/10
Points Lost: The Iron Patriot armor (-1)

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