Miss Miss Bang Bang

Iron Man 3

** out of ****

Directed by: Shane Black

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley

Running time: 129 minutes

The onslaught of superhero franchises that hit the big screen after Spider Man broke box office records in May 2002 fed an audience demand to see big, broad, effects-laden stories of good overcoming evil. The closest of Marvel's films to interact directly with both the tensions and patriotic bravado of a post-9/11 society was Iron Man.

That trilogy's greatest asset was always Robert Downey Jr., whose dry, sarcastic persona brought a lighthearted amicability to billionaire industrialist Tony Stark. However, his biting charm as Stark, King of Snark, is not enough to save Iron Man 3, a big, dumb, noisy extravaganza that turns (unintentionally) into a self-parody of the superhero subgenre.

Stark is a weapon of mass destruction in his Iron Man suit, especially when he battles alongside pal James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), who has his own metal alter ego, War Machine (or “Iron Patriot,” depending on whichever you think sounds cooler).

Together, Stark and Rhodes are single-handedly fighting the War on Terror. Using terms from the modern geopolitical environment, Iron Man and War Machine are drones. They soar through the sky to defend the motherland from the Mandarin, a nonchalant terrorist kingpin played by Ben Kingsley. 

After the Mandarin orders an air strike on Stark’s Malibu mansion and sends it crumbling into the Pacific, the playboy superhero must redeem himself and find out the terrorist's identity by investigating the places the mysterious antagonist already bombed.

The film takes place in a world of familiar political anxieties. Stark can summon his iron components with the flick of a wrist, using state-of-the-art technology to control the effectiveness of his violent capabilities. Instead of looking into the dilemma of drone warfare in the War on Terror or how it confronts the protagonist and the victims of such attacks, Iron Man 3's conflict is, unfortunately, rather tame.

Although the film opens with Stark’s voice explaining how “men create their own demons,” Shane Black’s film doesn’t spend much time exploring the emotional complexity of the character - even when terrorists threaten Stark’s life, as well as his girlfriend, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Black, who co-wrote the film with Drew Pearce, is as close a screenwriter as one could get to Stark’s persona: self-aware, scathingly funny and full of curt one-liners. Black wrote Lethal Weapon, Last Action Hero and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, all of which would have been appropriate subtitles for Iron Man 3. However, his reunion with Bang Bang star Downey Jr. does not have much of the wit or substance of that earlier noir parody.

Instead, Iron Man 3 turns into an unintentional parody of superhero blockbusters, relying on sequel indulgences that have failed in the past. Like its first sequel, this Iron Man entry is packed with thinly written characters that have questionable motivations. Among this group is Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), a scientist and old flame of Stark’s who gets little to do. 

She works for Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), who is interested in limb regeneration; unfortunately, the script cannot generate much personality within that character until he turns into a cartoon halfway through. Pearce is a good actor in a thankless role – similar to Sam Rockwell’s disappointing turn in #2. Furthermore, a precocious (and dreadfully annoying) kid who enters during the middle third is useless to the story, but required to help Marvel Studios pander to the younger audiences of parent company Disney. 

At one point of Iron Man 3, Killian tells Stark that "subtlety has indeed had its day," which could be a future tagline for Marvel Studios. Sure, the film has some thrilling action sequences, including a fantastic rescue of free-falling airplane passengers. However, instead of exploring its characters or examining the shades of grey surrounding weapons technology in modern times, Iron Man 3 is content to think in terms of black and white, as well as be an illogical, loud and explosive piece of popcorn cinema.