A Much
Darker Atmosphere
The previous films had ‘dark’ moments in them, usually where
Tony Stark was under threat and faced a decision or situation that was designed
to test him and show the hero elements to his personality. This was balanced
with a lot of humour to prevent that dark nature from taking over and making the
films aimed at older audiences rather than the much wider audience intended.
In Iron Man 3,
this dark nature is given free reign and following on from the events in Avengers Assemble, our hero is having
trouble recovering and returning to his old self, if that’s even what he wants.
The events in that film has opened his eyes to what he can really become but
there are things stopping him and a good part of the film is dealing with Tony
Stark’s demons rather than the problems faced by Iron Man.
There’s still plenty of humour throughout the film. In my
opinion, there is less obvious humour and much grittier, dark humour that will
have you laughing on the inside more than on the surface. I like this a lot
more, as it suits my preferences but it isn’t for everyone. This is worth
keeping in mind when watching the film, the atmosphere is completely different
to the previous films but it has to be to really tell the story and let Tony develop.
Pushing
the Boundaries of His World
In each film, we have seen Tony create a host of gadgets and
pieces of tech to help him survive and show off his flamboyant style, and this
doesn’t change in Iron Man 3. From
assembling the very first version of the Iron Man suit, to new power cores and mobile
versions he can access in any area, the next big breakthrough would be watched
closely. The trailers gave us an idea before seeing the film of what kind of
things we could expect. A new mobile version of the suit followed by a whole
new group of suits hit the screen in this film and in all honesty, because of
the trailer, I wasn’t as surprised or impressed this time around.
It is a fine line to work, but once you watch the film, you
can put two and two together and you know who things will end in some shape or
form. This disappointment was quickly put to rest when you consider the
circumstances of the whole film. This isn’t just about Iron Man as a hero, but
Tony Stark as a hero and where the two personalities begin and end. In that
light, we don’t see too much of the innovation and there is a great spectacle
to behold once those suits arrive on the scene.
The
End Result
I’m unsure as to where this film rates out of the three. It
is better than Iron Man 2 but is it
better than the first one? After watching it once, I would say it wasn’t as
good, but still a brilliant film. The more I think about it, the less sure I am
about that. It’s hard to beat the first of a trilogy in most cases, and it
could be that I like the style of this film better rather than the film as a
whole.
Shane Black’s influence is brutally clear in this film and
his work speaks for itself. There have been influences of him in the previous
films but this film seems a lot more complete in that regard. There is also an
influence of Joss Whedon after the incredible job of Avengers Assemble and the way the whole franchise is fitting
together shows the strength of the characters and the universe it is set in.
I have a feeling that the more I watch this film, the more I
will like it and in time, it may well become my favourite Iron Man film. It
will always be close between the first and the third but there is a lot more
confidence in this one than the last, just in the way to script comes across
and how well the actors have settled into these roles now. If you haven’t seen
it, then I’d recommend it. It’s a fantastic film and one of the best I’ve seen
for a long time.
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