Iron Man 3 (2013)

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After 'The Avengers' was released, we learned that 'Iron Man 3,' 'Thor: The Dark World,' and 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' were in the works, providing some aftermath for these characters. Following the events of 'The Avengers,' our heroes have gone their separate ways until the next time some sort of planetary threat pops up. I still recall having this inner feeling of excitement, knowing that after 'The Avengers,' a whole cinematic Marvel superhero world had been established.

It was a feeling reminiscent of being a kid, looking forward to the further adventures of superhero cartoons like 'Spider-Man' or 'X-Men,' where bringing in outside Marvel heroes and villains was easier. We were finally at a point where crossover in film wasn't such a problem, and everything was looking great - except the first couple of films out of the gate just so happen to be two of the MCU's weakest, in my humble opinion, and it's not just because they follow in the shadow of 'The Avengers.' We start here, with 'Iron Man 3' - the MCU's Christmas Movie, if it ever really had one (not counting the 'Guardians' Christmas Special).

Following the events of 'The Avengers', Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), as one of the most grounded characters in the MCU (as in no real powers), he now has to deal with the idea that aliens exist, along with Norse Gods, and there are much bigger things out there than his battles around the globe since becoming Iron Man. His dread about the unknown causes him anxiety attacks, and he creates a whole whack of Iron Man suits in his spare time, hardly giving his now full-on romantic interest, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), the time of day.

Meanwhile, a terrorist who calls himself "The Mandarin" (Ben Kingsley) commences a series of bombings around America. When Stark's trusted confidant Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) nearly gets killed by one, Stark, not thinking clearly, calls out the Mandarin to go toe-to-toe and gives him his home address; a move that always sort of irked me, because despite his cockiness, Stark ought to be smarter than that. Anyway, the Mandarin launches his attack on Stark's Malibu abode, and Stark soon finds himself wandering alone, trying to get to the bottom of who the Mandarin is and what he wants.

As I mentioned earlier, 'Iron Man 3' is one of the MCU's weaker entries, but it has some things to credit. For starters, it doesn't shake Stark's sense of humour we've all grown to love, despite this entry being a little heavier than the previous two. I also enjoy the introduction of James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) as the new "Iron Patriot," replacing "War Machine," as the rebranding offers something a little more hopeful and less intimidating - after all, these guys are meant to be heroes. In some ways, the film is relatively entertaining, but other aspects bring its quality down for me.

This is a classic example of a movie whose trailer is misleading. By all accounts, it looked like a darker, more emotional film in which we would see Iron Man fight his nemesis, The Mandarin. Instead, we hardly see Stark wear the Iron Man armour, he's made to hang out with a kid named Harley (Ty Simpkins) we all ended up forgetting existed by 'Avengers: Endgame,' and it comes with a rather disappointing "big reveal" which I still remember getting frustrated about when I first saw this, hoping for one thing, but getting something I felt was much weaker.

I will admit that, at this point, the MCU has certainly released weaker titles, and it's a bit easier to watch nowadays since the release of 'Shang-Chi,' which addresses a few things left over from this film. However, when you put it alongside the first two 'Iron Man' films, it feels easy to consider this one the weakest entry. It's not without its nostalgic charm at this point, but it still could have been a whole lot better. Add having next to nothing to do with the brewing "Infinity Saga," and it's ultimately one of the more forgettable titles within the expanse of the MCU.

2/5

POST-CREDIT SCENE: It's revealed that Tony Stark has been chatting with Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) the whole time, which suggests the movie is narrated. It's just a little bit of added humour that suggests Stark and Banner will work together again soon.

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