Iron Man 3 is a mash-up between Warren Ellis’
Extremis and Matt Fraction’s The Five Nightmares story arcs which
are both available in trade format. Following the events of Avengers, Tony battles post traumatic
stress disorder as the Mandarin launches his attack. Iron Man 3 begins with
Tony Stark speaking of the events that occurred throughout the movie and how it
all began. We do not realize who he is talking to until after the final credits
roll.
The first
Iron Man film teased about the Ten Rings which secretly referenced the
Mandarin. However it is not until now that we are truly introduced to the
Mandarin who is a terrorist bent on destroying the world and played by Sir Ben
Kingsley. The organization of A.I.M is also introduced who has teamed up with
the Mandarin. Marvel has given us a much different take on the Mandarin than in
the comics. Instead of being a lead character, he is a tool used by A.I.M to
control both sides of the conflict.
The
special effects and superb performances within the film did not help with a
poorly executed story. The character of Aldrich Killian played by Guy Pearce
begins with a weak character suffering from a physical condition then develops
into a stronger one. A true villain will always remain stronger than the hero in
order to raise the threat level. Meanwhile the Mandarin began as a threat then
was reduced to a method actor. Iron Man 3 would have been well served if the
villains were major threats to begin with rather than comic relief characters.
Overall
the movie is riding on the success of the previous Iron Man films and the
Avengers. It will do extremely well after Star
Trek: Into Darkness premieres 2 weeks later. The movie is much better than
Iron Man 2 however falls short of the first one.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT – 3 OUT OF 5
