The sequence is backed up by character work, obviously, but there's a certain fist-pump inherent in seeing, say, Iron Man streak across the sky blasting everything that moves.
If you're worried about the implication of starting a movie review by saying I really loved a different movie, well, yep. I was disappointed by Iron Man 3. It contains a lot of wonderful material that doesn't quite coalesce into a strong story.
Iron Man 3 is as much a continuation of The Avengers as it is the next Iron Man chapter. Tony Stark struggles with PTSD after nuking aliens right in the wormhole while he struggles to cope with the monsters created by his asshole past self. Traditional comics nemesis The Mandarin appears as an Osama analogue with Guy Pearce as a sleazy business science suit dude with literally the best hair in the Marvel universe. Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle both reprise their supporting roles and get some good material.
Shane Black directs the film with a strong authorial voice. It's unapologetically his film and that's to be admired. It's no surprise the man behind Lethal Weapon injects great energy into characters' banter but the level of humour and confidence in some great reveals was a pleasant surprise.
What I felt myself wanting when I left the theater though, was that fist pump of seeing Iron Man unleash at full force. Iron Man 3 tests Tony Stark mostly by taking away his toys. It's a usual 'part three' problem - just having a hero win things with their abilities is no longer enough - but dammit, 12-year-old inner Stefan wants to see Iron Man in action (and that dude runs my whole life).
I feel bad making that complaint, as the scenes where Tony needs to succeed without his armour are some of the film's best. His infiltration of a complex using hacked together explosives and such is particularly strong, as is having to fight with one boot and one glove.
So what worked?
Mandarin is amazing. The character has loomed over this series - they were never going to be able to import him straight from the books, given that he's a Yellow Peril stereotype that uses martial arts and magic rings. The approach here is a masterstroke of awesomeness over fan service and worthy of applause.
This is an enormously funny film: many laughs to be had.
Robert Downey Jr remains excellent as Tony Stark. Much of the second act rests solely on his shoulders and he carries it well.
That bit with the plane was pretty damn impressive.
There's a moment where Tony runs out of a bar and gets in his suit which shows it's just parked there on the street like a car. I love that. It's a great touch of world-building which reinforces something I really enjoy about the Iron Man franchise, which is there is no secret identity or even a hero identity. This is a story of Tony Stark, a man with amazing suits.
What didn't work?
Guy Pearce and his Extremis team were not very exciting in ability or motivation, especially when they're sharing screen time with Mandarin.
The movie gives the impression that the Iron Man suits are made of tinfoil always seconds from breaking.
A few things - such as Tony's emotional problems - weren't really resolved, and the ending was a bit rushed, conceivably to adopt a finality to the end of the trilogy.
In adopting the conventions of a shared storytelling universe, the Marvel movies have benefited from a momentum that transcends each individually. Interestingly, they've also encountered some of the issues comics have struggled with for decades. Once you start stacking stories on top of each other, how can you make sure everything makes sense? Once Iron Man tag teams an alien death ship with the Hulk, how do you make helicopters seem like a threat? By turning off his boots?
Verdict: Iron Man 3 is a good movie that suffers mostly from me being a huge nerd who stamps his feet and says things like 'Jarvis controlling all those suits devalues the essence of the Stark character' when I should really be able to admit that it is a great, funny time and leave it at that.
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